


A Little Iffy

by frechi123



Series: A Little Iffy [1]
Category: YouTube Gamers and Other Stuff
Genre: Gen, How many tags is too many?!?!, Icy is Amy's Demon, Mad is Cry's demon, Most of them have a demon because next work, Oh and the demons too, Paran is Signe's demon, Schism is Tyler's demon, Shade is Wade's demon, Tag the dogs cause why not?, YouTube, YouTube Fan Fiction, YouTubers - Freeform, but you probably knew that, though no one knows why Shade is missing for a while
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:13:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 38,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frechi123/pseuds/frechi123
Summary: Starting a YouTube channel is one tough thing in Iffy's case. But somehow getting people to like her, meeting all her favorite YouTubers, and then going on crazy adventures with them? That's another thing entirely!





	1. I Am A Robot (Now Leave Me Alone!)

**Author's Note:**

> I think about making stories like this over and over in my head XD. Maybe when I can draw better digitally I can make it come to life! Until then, though, this will do :P
> 
> Note: some chapters are short, some are long. I went on a Mango Street tangent (thanks a lot Sandra xD), so please forgive the way I write :)
> 
> Enjoy, though ^-^

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy comes up with an idea for her new YouTube channel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is very fiction and a vignette, so it seems weird the way I write because it's all present and in the moment. Also, there's single quotes around all dialogue - yeah I'm odd XD.

_ALittleIffy._

That's what I have decided to call the YouTube channel that I'll actually focus on this time of October - or at least, that's the plan.

Over the course of my 17 years of ever being alive and the 10 of them being on YouTube, my sister and I've posted the stupidest things ever on the old channel we used to work on: _SuperZeeZee123._ We would post anything and everything up there without so much as a second thought then. We know better now. From there my sister stuck to strictly watching YouTube (which was still unlikely) while I just posted music and Sims videos to my heart's content. Sometimes I even made "continued stories" from movies I used to watch. I still watch them sometimes, but it still feels stupid to me.

I stand up from my pine green rolling desk chair. _Making_ the channel is only half the battle. I'll deal with the other half when I come to it.

_Now, what to do next?_

Great, now I'm just finding excuses not to try and think of a video already. Aren't I a sad person?

Anyway, I turn and sit back down on my chair in a mini defeat, pulling myself up to the wooden desk, careful not to tangle my feet in any of my cords in my power strip. One yank and the entire computer will shut down. I open multiple tabs, all onto YouTube, proceeding to input my top 5 YouTubers in the progress into all the search bars at the top, quicker than I thought humanely possible for me:

_Jacksepticeye._

_CinemaSins._

_Markiplier._

_PewDiePie._

_DashieXP._

I don't go one day without watching a video from at least one of them. These days I can really use a laugh. But today I open just one more tab and watch another YouTuber that I often did, albeit less so: _Fandroid._ I hadn't heard about him until I went through _The Living Tombstone_ for remixes. Videos from Undertale led to FNAF, which led to Tattletail, and then I found his channel, although these days I only watch his gaming channel now.

Seeing Fandroid reminded me of one of the super ridiculous games my sister used to invent. (She's 14, so she's moved past them by now.) She was this annoying robot getting activated for the first time, only able to say "I am a robot" for the time being. As the inquisitive human, all I could even think about was touching her to see what was up. Of course, that got her annoyed and she would constantly say "Leave the robot alone" after every time she was touched. That is, until after a certain amount of times, she'd go beserk. I smiled as I remembered that. Then suddenly a lightbulb goes in my head! Humming to myself, I dash off to get a pad and paper to write some words down. Only they're not just "some words". They are the premise to my very first YouTube channel - the one that might actually be worth something someday. Who knows, maybe I'll crash and burn, but I won't know 'till I try, right?

_I am a robot,_  
_I am a robot,_  
_I am a robot,_  
_leave the robot alone!_

Welp, I have a chorus. Now to slap some more thought on this video thingy and get it up there!

[](http://imgbb.us/image/CvgQK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by me ^_^


	2. Cracker Jacks-in-a-Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy's enjoying a moment to herself at the park when she gets a snack from a random stranger - and another surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note - double quotes are for airquoted thought and written items

Okay, okay, I'm getting up, alarm, you can turn off your nag alert now. Why did I set you up again? All you've done is piss me off so I'm forced to wake up for the day.

I trudge over to my computer, throwing myself into the chair and squinting at the screen absentmindedly. Alas, the Force is not strong with this one.

I raise a shaky arm to get my hand to the mouse - why am I feeling dreadly already when the day has barely started? The worst someone can do is leave an ugly comment on my video or dislike it. I stare at the title: "I Am A Robot (Leave The Robot Alone) - Official Music Video" by ALittleIffy under the _ALittleIffyVEVO_ playlist. A roll of the eyes. Big deal, that's not even the scary part. My eyes scan down to the views, as I slowly raise my hands to my face, preparing to sigh into them after the tens of people that watched it disliked it promptly after.

I snatch them away when I see the view count unable to believe it myself: 20,000 views. And not a dislike in sight.

My breath hitches, and I'm shocked that I haven't killed myself out of pure shock yet. Why would so many people watch my video? Have they met me? Well, obviously not! And perhaps they never really would. 

Granted, I was wearing an ensemble that made me look like, well, NOT me - a fluorescent light blue wig that practically glowed in the dark with thick eyeshadow and lipstick to match; a bright white skirt (that would make all "perfect teeth" models jealous) that stuck out to the outsides, as if someone had sewn a hoop into it and tried to make it a toy... and gave up on that project. My teal sleeveless shirt had a conical collar around it that reached halfway to my ears and a section cut out in front so I could see. I could see myself nearly toppling in the first section of the video, not having been used to my white and blue 7-inch platform boots, that lit up in the little beads every time I jumped around.

I didn't recognize myself in the video, not one bit, and, for the moment, I'm convinced it isn't me who invented a techno song based on some stupid game my sister invented when we were younger, earning myself 22,839 views for the 23 and 1/2 hours it's been up for the people to critique.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

'Get it together, Iffy,' I'm saying to myself as I rush off to the park, to clear my mind, in yet another crazy outfit of mine: a shortly bobbed pink wig, the same color as Trix yogurt. My outfit isn't as crazy as my hair; just a neon, glow-in-the-dark tye dye shirt with a septic eye featured prominently on the upper right corner of the shirt just reaching the sleeve - the mark of Jacksepticeye (aka Sean McLoughlin). My cargos (a mark of DashieXP) are the split colors of jesters: red and blue, with their own patches on the knees: one of Tiny Box Tim and the other of the Brofist, for PewDiePie and Markiplier respectively. On my wig is a bandana, plainly gray, another signification of DashieXP, though this was less so. My eyes, though still painted light blue, are not prominent to my face, being hidden by shades with the words "Cinema" and "Sins" on each lens. 

I sit on the third bench from Cicilly Lake, under the tree that always curved just so, to maximize shade on the exact bench. I bite my lip, which is now painted half red as well as half blue, though the latter color is not as flashy as the one I'd chosen for my robot excursion.

My head's down, my body twists around as I peer over the back of the bench, on my knees, contemplating the gradients in the sidewalk and how shiny and tiny they looked, just getting stuck in the grooves of the ground, only to be noticed by birds occasionally mistaking it for something crucial for survival.

I felt like could relate to the sentiments in the ground, minus the "being mistaken for crucial items" bit. What am I good for? I still haven't found that answer, and I supposed I never would. 

I turn back around to sit correctly on my bench only to find a young boy staring at me, right in the face, only inches from me. Despite not screaming, I'm startled by the sudden face in my own, smiling back with his little pearly whites, his short ginger hair whipping in the wind, like it was proving that it could do so despite the length of it, as I reel back a bit. His arms are hidden behind his back and the navy blue sleeves on his collared and striped shirt. The sweat glistens off his pale skin, as if he'd run all the way here just to talk to me, which I'm fairly sure isn't the case. Despite this, I raise my eyes to be level with the boy and smile back, though mine is small and lacking in teeth.

'Can I help you?' I scratch my head involuntarily, hoping this won't get awkward.

He tilts his head, as if studying me. I'm this close to closing my eyes, trying to make myself disappear when he speaks.

'You are robot girl, right?'

His voice is high-pitched and slightly squeaky when he ends his sentence. For some reason I am more focused on how he sounds than what he says, so when he asks again I can't refrain from asking 'What - what did you say?' with a raise in my eyes and a little squeak of my own in the end.

'From the video, with the hoop skirt and bright blue lipstick. That's you, right?'

His hands are still behind his back, hiding something, when I realize what he's said. I give an uncertain nod, as if I don't exactly believe what it is that he's saying.

'That's me,' I say, 'not that it matters, perhaps. Anyway, did you need something?'

'You look sad,' he says, and finally takes his hands out in front of him, carrying a box in his right and his own tiny fist in his left. I look good and hard at the box: cracker jacks. The box has not been opened, or so it appears, as if this boy were saving it for later or trying to give it to a friend - well, me in this case. I don't even realize that I look sad until I raise a hand to my face and wipe a tiny tear. The young boy gives me a small smile, a truly sympathetic look, and I can't help but wonder if he even knows the meaning of the word, the little 7-year-old.

'These are for you,' he says, holding the box out closer to me, 'will you take them?'

My eyes widen a bit, wondering why he's giving me this snack anyway, when he doesn't know me all that well, while still being flattered by the gesture. I'm still debating whether or not to take the box from him, though. But they always say never look a gift horse in the mouth, which is why I hold out my hands to the boy, who willingly drops the box into said suspecting hands. 

'Keep doing what you do,' he says, and then he leans over and hugs me before scurrying off as fast as he came. (Let it be known that it was months before I ever saw that boy again, and it wasn't at this park.)

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The sun beats down on me and my cracker jacks as I jog home from (and in) long contemplation. Every so often people would wave to me or say they saw my video and liked it. I stay fairly quiet, only small waves back and very short answers. I'm not used to people actually being willing to talk to me without being pissed or looking uncomfortable. Seriously. I walk into any room and the atmosphere just... dies.

Anyway, as I dig into the box for another Cracker Jack, I feel something that definitely isn't. I yank out the unsuspecting item, stumbling as the box hits the ground still intact. After steadying myself, I pick up the box in one hand and glance at the letter in the other to read what it says:

_"Hey kid, you've got potential!_

_But do you have what it takes to measure up to these YouTubers?_

_Why don't you fly over to Seattle, see if you will ever be this good?_

_Enclosed are your flight tickets and backstage passes to PAX._

_You'll thank us later._

_\- The Kipsys"_

I have to read the letter 4 times before I realize what my eccentric neighbors, the Kipsys, have ultimately done.

They've watched the video.  
They've thought I had potential, and they are nearly impossible to please.  
They've used their own their own money to buy me a round trip ticket to Seattle, and THEN a backstage pass to PAX alongside the normal ticket. 

Patrice and Fred Kipsy were super movie and book crictics in their time. Everyone respected their decisions and still did. Their kid, Omeros, who I somehow hadn't recognized at the park, despite having baby-sat him on a few occasions, may be just as influential as they are in the young world, and probably the only kid who does not despise me like the others, though some may have less so, if they have saw my video.

 

I don't think a single person missed the screaming from Cicilly Park all the way to Rolling Pine Drive that day.


	3. Success Comes in PAX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy's very first PAX convention doesn't go so well when she is rudely mislead, chased by dogs, and falling from a very high height! Luckily, a certain Swede (and friends) will rescue her from certain humiliation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix to the rescue! (And later on, to pain)
> 
> Also, I don't know what PAX looks like from the inside, so I'll describe it the way I think it looks.

The joint is certainly hopping as I make my way inside the PAX building. Not quite sure what I'm supposed to be expecting, but I'm enamored nonetheless. Tables stretching out from nowhere to anywhere with demos and chairs as far as the eye could see. Only people don't come for the chairs, they come for the fun, unless they're watching a panel, and so then trying to find a good seat suddenly becomes some kind of Olympic free-for-all.

I keep glancing about, my eyes laced with tiredness, after sitting through hours on a mindless flight of Coke and peanuts, and absolutely no in-flight entertainment in between (easily blamed on airplane Wi-Fi for refusing to flat out work), only to be whisked away to my hotel where I flopped back-first onto my bed, thinking about how lucky I was to even have gotten here.

The ticket that the Kipsys had offered to me would take me to any panel I wanted to see in PAX, so now I'm at a dead run, trying to find the panel lists when I suddenly trip over something lying in the path. I'm not sure what it is, but I ignore it, flipping myself up back to standing before I go on.

As I pass by the panel doors I come across a nice enough, color coded, digital scrolling map of the entire PAX building. (You know, like the kind you find in malls sometimes.) I'm trying to find out what panel I want to see when I'm suddenly nudged from behind, accidentally-on-purpose. My head slams into the map, thankfully not breaking it, or getting a concussion. Then I turn to face my attacker.

'What's the big idea?!' I snap, looking down on him, which is not too hard since he is literally a foot and a half shorter than me - 4' 2". 'You're an adult, you should know better.'

He stares at me, a sly grin on his face, the only part of his face that I can see, seeing as it's obscured by a fox mask... for some reason. I have a feeling I'm about to fall into a trap if I stick around this one any longer, but unfortunately the situation is about to get super disconcerting.

'Just head up these stairs down the back; you'll get there,' the sly fox insists, and unfortunately my brain is going slow enough to believe him, as I absentmindedly wander down the hall to soon-to-be certain doom.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's some faraway noise that I can't place as I traverse the hall, and I don't want to know it. I ignore it. It works for a while. Then it gets closer, and I know what it is: barking. And it's coming from the door a few paces away.

Why couldn't I just follow the freaking map?! They don't lie! I walk a bit faster, past it, until I hear the horrifying sound of a double door being pulled open (you'll see why in a quick second). I hesitantly turn back, despite slowly filling up to the brim with anger if it's that stupid man again, or anyone else trying to scare me.

All of it immediately turns to fear when a loogie of foam is hacked out the door into the adjacent hallway, and then followed by a loud, sharp barking, which is THEN followed by a large black dog with a spiky collar jumping out, baring its teeth and foaming at the mouth.

I stand petrified to my spot, unmoving, until the dog cocks its head back to the doorway, away from me, and changes its bark to something much lower pitched (is this the doggy version of Big Smoke or something?! "OHHHHH!!") as if trying to summon others to its aid. Unfortunately, it's so. For just as the dog ceases the incessant barking, a cesspool wave of them come barreling out the door frame, towards me.

A bloodcurdling scream and a mad dash up the stairs are no match for the 11 dogs chasing after me. I keep trying to dodge this way and that, though they keep finding me, all the while trying to not get bitten - I know that 8 of the dogs have rabies, which also means no slipping on their foam either, or I'm a sick/dead woman.

I finally manage to squat and hide behind a large pole in the far upstairs space I'm confined to. Somehow they can't sense me, even though I know 3 of them should be completely fine to dog - meaning sniff me out and eat me alive. Also, the floor seems brittle and squeaky, so all of them should still be able to hear me. Rabies don't affect the hearing, at least I don't think so.

I hear muffled voices coming from far below. There's a panel in progress! I knew I shouldn't have listened to that snake. Or fox, whatever. I can't hear the dogs anymore, so I slowly start to stand up, getting ready to charge for the stairs if they're hiding and pulling a trick.

But a loud and unpleasant cracking sound from beneath me makes me stop. Hesitating to stand all the way, I find myself in some sort of half-squat position debating whether or not to stand or sit back down... when, in an instant, that decision is made for me as the floor cracks, splits and drops away.

I don't think I've screamed any harder than I do as I start falling (18 feet, mind you!) in slow-motion to my inevitable doom. Expecting something on my person to break (or my death), I throw my hands in front of my face and get ready to brace for impact.

However, all I feel is a large thump behind me as I hit the hard ground beneath me. Why didn't I shield my back as I fell since I was clearly falling back first? Who knows. All I see is darkness, and I'm convinced I'm dead. Wait, if I am, why do I hear laughing all around me? No one laughs in heaven - at least, not _at_ anyone.

I'm too afraid to open my eyes, and my face is suddenly all wet. Which means, unless the dogs have somehow finally dogged up and won, and I'm foaming at my own mouth or they're foaming on my own face, I'm either sweating or crying. I don't want it to be the latter (even though it's preferred over the worst case scenario any day) but life doesn't play out that way, at least not for me.

'Hey, are you okay?'

I think I recognize the voice, but I don't want to make assumptions and so I just think they sound so similar. Great, am I being racist now?

'Stop laughing, guys,' the voice says again, 'falling through the ceiling is no laughing matter.'

My right hand is being pulled on, and so am I, up easily along with it, to a sitting position.

'Open your eyes, you're not dead, bro!'

Fool me three times, you Swede... I open my eyes. Sure enough, I'm staring PewDiePie, aka Felix, right in the face right now. I blink once. Twice. I don't trust myself to speak, not at all.

'Hey, is she okay, Felix?'

Irish. I glance slightly past Felix and sure enough, Jack is present on the PAX stage, and so is Mark, who still hasn't spoken. Their expressions are just as stunned as Felix's, which is now concerned, had been a split second ago. I don't and can't trust myself to move an inch either.

I don't want to glance back at all to the frenzied crowd. I know what they're doing, those hecklers, and I wish I didn't, really. 

Hastily I yank my arm out of Felix's grasp, then I just bury my head in my hands and cry, right then and there.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

_Where the heck am I now?_

When my eyes finally open up, I'm not in PAX anymore and I'm certainly not hugging my knees like I'd distinctly remembered doing, but lying in the back seat of a three row car, face up. When my head perks up a bit, my BlurryVision indicates that someone is glancing down worriedly at me. I squint up at them, which isn't helping my BV any. Wade. I didn't see him up on stage earlier.

'Guys, she's up,' Wade says, running a hand over his head before retracting a bit. Bob's head pokes up opposite Wade's, and Jack glances around from the passenger seat up front, almost as if he's in the middle of the midsection. Mark's fluffy hair is poking up in the far front somewhere, so he's driving. _Oh, lord, what have I gotten myself into? Sigh._

Back to 20/20, I blink about a million times trying to keep the tears at bay. How many times I would (almost) cry today, I'll never know. Then I simply sigh. Nothing I can do now.

'You okay back there?' Mark's voice floats over to me although he's not facing me, and that's good for two obvious reasons. I don't answer the question, instead trying to make an utmost effort to sit up, regretting it immediately as pain flashes through my head and left arm (how'd I lift it earlier again?!). Something falls off my head as I do, but I don't see it right away as Wade eases me back down with one hand, placing the cold object atop my head again. _Some sort of compress?_ 'Easy, now,' he says, 'don't want to start pushing yourself so early.'

A new face pops up, and it's a girl's this time, and for some reason it makes me feel no better because BlurryVision has kicked back up to much worse levels and now I can't tell if it's Signe or Marzia who's amidst them all up there. Stupid faulty eyesight.

'She's okay, yeah?' Italian. Definitely Marzia, for sure. And the cue is set. BlurryVision fading, I sit up, slowly this time, seeing everyone in the car before me. It's not every day you end up in the same place as all your favorite YouTube stars, and here I am, already screwing _that_ up.

I want to face palm over and over again, but I can't because I know that won't fly with everyone else. It takes all of my being to resist not wanting to drag myself down (in terms of emotion and off the seat) even more, and so I focus on trying to go to sleep in the car instead.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The next time I awaken, my headache has long since faded (as the compress had disappeared) and my left arm is mummified and slung. So I broke it. Great. I'm lying face up once again, staring at yet another ceiling that's not my own or even PAX's for that matter, although it would be really high were it the latter. I also realize, then, that it's not a hospital ceiling I'm looking at, either. My right arms feels below me. I'm on a couch.

I push myself up, making an effort to stand up off it. There's a large TV right in front and it intimidates me. There's a door off to my left, and a long winding hallway off to my right, with funky colored hallway stairs; each step seems to have a different color. The ceiling of the room I'm in seems way higher than any PAX ceiling; except for in the area leading to the hallway, it's too high to see the top, and the wall into the space is lined with stair railings. For some reason I feel dizzy, like I'll float up through the hole and out the ceiling that probably has no top.

'Hey, you're up, I see.'

Irish again. I turn to face the sound and Sean's coming right at me with a bowl of whatever in right and a bag in left. 'You gave us quite a scare there, you okay now?'

Sigh. 'Yeah, I'm fine, I guess. But can you tell me where I am, because I haven't an idea. Also, frankly, I'm craving those cookies I left in my duffel.' 

He looks over at me for a smidge longer, and then at the bag he carries. 'Would this happen to be it?' he asks, thrusting the bag in my direction.

I give a small smile. 'Yeah, that's it, thanks Sean.' I walk over and take the bag from him. He pulls some grapes from the bowl he carries as I peer inside my bag, frowning, and then giving him a quizzical look. 'Uh, has someone been eating out of my bag?'

He raises an eyebrow, then his right hand, with the bowl still in it. 'Not me, I swear. I never touched those cookies,' he says, and then scratches his head. 'So who did?'

'We have to find out,' I say, breezing stealthily past Sean to the railing of the steps and peer over. Sean apparates beside me, now bowl-less, and looks over as well. Aha! Chewing sounds can be heard, and as we glance a bit farther into the scene we catch sight of Mark and Felix on the couch, backs facing us, munching on my cookies while they're playing some game on TV. Not a single undesirable sound can be heard except the munching of the cookies, which is annoying me, seeing as they didn't bother asking where they came from.

'No screaming?' Sean wonders. 'That's not like them - at least, not where video games are concerned.'

I start to tiptoe down the steps. 'Good, makes this part much more fun.'

Sean quietly hurries after me as we make our way towards the back of the couch. I'm surprised we're not caught then and there because even our quietest footsteps would be amplified over the ambient quiet, but either they don't hear them or are dismissing them; no signs they are aware we're here.

I raise up swiftly and grab Felix roughly by the right shoulder (if my left arm hadn't broken, I would have grabbed both). 'Who dares snack on my cookies?!' I yell as loud as I can, as Sean grabs both of Mark's shoulders at the same time and utters a laugh that is not quite his own. 

Mark and Felix scream super loud and leap off the couch and we tumble to the floor, behind the couch, red-faced and breathless from laughing so hard. 'That will teach you two! Perhaps you should have asked first!' I shriek, out of breath.

They're peeking out over the couch to look at us, turning their eyes on me and not flipping out like I expect them to. Instead, they have slight smiles across their faces and give slight nods as if to say "you're all right". 

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

'Hey, no one ever told me where this was,' I say, hours later, back upstairs on the couch I was first brought to. After they apologize for ransacking the cookies, we end up playing some Super Smash Bros, which does actually lead to screaming (more between Sean and Felix than Mark or me) until our throats are (or were, up until now) sore. Felix is standing opposite me, rubbing his chin in thought until I ask the question. I'd told Sean to stash away the cookies so Felix and Mark won't get into them and eat them again, and that's where he's off to while Mark keeps to his room.

'We call it YouTube House,' Felix says, waving his arms in extravagance. 'It's where all of us YouTubers hang out - at least, the ones that know each other quite well. This house is fairly huge, there's about 5 floors to this whole place.

On the first floor is where the kitchen and living room are, usually collabs are done there. And the Game Grumps have taken the top floor, only they're not around right now. No one's sure where they went, but they're plenty busy! We don't want to be a bother.

Mark, Sean and I have taken this floor, which is the second. My room's just off to the left, and Sean's is off to the right, and Mark's is by the funky colored hallway stairs, painted red, green and blue for our YT profile logos. None of the other stairs even compare to have colors like these. 

On the next floor, third: Wade and Bob. They wanted to conquer their own floor, but I scolded them that they'll have to keep a room open when Ethan says he can finally swing by and move in. He wanted to, but he has quite the convincing to do, and all the fans he sort of lives around won't let him go. It's been a wall of fans out there before, and trust me, that's scary. Tyler, Cry, and Robin are trying to speed up the process, but so far it's been slow going.

No one's on the 4th floor at the moment, just our dogs, pretty much, but it's still quite clean and furnished up there. I don't know what problem we have with that floor, but it is what it is. Your duffel's up there in one of the spare rooms, in case you can't make it back to your hotel yet and you don't want to end up dozing off on this couch. It's not comfy, and I know it firsthand. Now you know about the place we are currently calling home.'

Suddenly, his eyes light up for a split second. What just excited him right then?

'Wait! We have to show you our favorite place to hang - me, Mark and Sean. Let me text them to tell them to get down here right away. Done! You - Iffy, right? You follow me!'

He grabs my left hand and races us both down the hallway steps. Not even when we're out the front door did I realize I never told Felix my name.


	4. Twirly in the Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys drag Iffy off to their favorite club, where she and Felix are all of a sudden entrapped in an impromptu dance-off against Sean and Mark - who will come out on top?!

'Where are we?' I ask for the millionth time over, voice muffly through Felix's "taped-down" hand as he drags me away.

'You'll see,' Mark says, behind us, for the umpteenth time over - without cease or missing a beat.

Felix said, before we left the house in a blur, that he wanted to show me the place in which the trio spent most of their time besides the house. So as he speed texted Sean and Mark, telling them to come straight outside, and flashed us out the house with those two in pursuit, I can't help not asking when we will get there, or wondering why they'd walk so far to this mystery place (according to Mark, at least). Those questions feel offensive though, so I ask something else.

'How did you know my name?' I ask Felix, suddenly remembering he used it when we rushed out, when he finally stops running and slows to a walk, yet still has my mouth gagged. I guess even the Flash gets tired every now and then. Which is good, because it means the soles of my purple lace up boots are going to live a bit longer.

'We saw your video,' Sean, on the other side of me, answers for him, 'it's quite good, you know?'

He puts his hands over his eyes as if trying to see farther, but wherever we're going is clearly not in sight. I can't believe they have actually watched my video. It doesn't seem believable to me at least, but questioning it seems rude, so I don't.

Another 5 minutes of me and Mark riding the ump repetitive wheel passes before we finally make it to the mystery location. I crane my head to see if I can tell where the heck we are, but the building merely portrays paper blandness and I give up. Mark approaches the caramel colored door first, followed by Felix who was still holding my wrist yet has finally released my mouth, with Sean taking up the rear. I start to think of food for some reason, and then, suddenly, of taking a huge chunk out of that caramel door. Still averse to it, of course, picturing the taste of caramel flavored splinters.

As soon as we pass the door's threshold it gets loud. I make do covering one ear with my bad arm, painful as it may be, because Felix hasn't released my good one yet. The scene is blinding in all kinds of lights and purple dance floors, which are all crowded. I hope epileptic people don't accidentally wander in here. Booths are spread out as far as my eyes will go - some empty, some full.

The warden leads me to an empty one, close to the bathrooms and a few paces from a mini dance floor where some dance offs seem to be happening, and finally lets me go. 

'What are we doing here?' I ask, rubbing my wrist as best I can, where it has turned red from excitable squeezing. Felix slides in next to me, with Sean and Mark sitting across from us. He turns to me and grins. 'Come on, Iffy, give this a chance before you start complaining! Besides, I told you we were coming to here to our home away from home, didn't I?'

'Yes, you did say that, but why here? What makes this place so special, it's so crowded around here.'

'You get used to it,' Sean says with a shrug. 'Mark and Felix loved this place from the get go but I couldn't stand the noise. Ironic coming from me, huh, the bossitronio of loud? Anyway, it's all the wicked dance offs that go on here that made me like it. No one cares about anything, they just cut loose. Even the most uptight of people have popped out of their shells every now and again.'

 _That_ I have to see. Something occurs to me right then, though.

'How am I going to dance with this though?' I ask, gesturing to my left arm which is still broken. Sometimes I forget about it since I move it so infrequently, except for today, ironically enough.

'You're going to have to be careful with it,' Sean warns. 'They tend to just pick and choose whoever they please, and whether or not it's solo or duet dance offs or something - it changes on any whim the joint owners choose. And you can't hide, trust me, they see everything. I tried to duck away once and they still caught me. If they catch us, we haven't a choice.'

And right then and there, I'm convinced Sean has jinxed us for the rest of the day. Sure enough, a few moments later, we hear a voice, or as I call it, the boom of doom - yeah, it's that loud.

'ATTENTION, WE ARE ABOUT TO START OUR DANCE OFFFFFFF!!!! TODAY WE'RE USING THE SPOTLIGHT METHOD. IF YOUR BOOTH ENDS UP IN THE SPOTLIGHT, YOU WILL HAVE TO DANCE.'

We see the spotlight sweeping to and fro, passing booths as it went. Some people try to reach out to it, while others cower in fear. 

Then suddenly, it disappears - or, at least, the light beam does.

'Huh?' says Mark. 'Did the light go out or something?' Felix looks too, straining and craning to see if he can find it, along with everyone else in the club.

But Sean and I know better. We're not staring into the crowd, but way high up where the spotlight originates. The physical light source is still moving around, trying to secretly find its next victim. When it stops, Sean suddenly looks horrified. The lens is facing us.

I know what he said about not being able to hide, but I try to anyway, dropping to my knees and crawling under the booth table, careful not to bump my arm. A little more rustling and I see that Sean has followed suit, despite his own omen. Mark and Felix peer curiously at us from their seats in the table. I know Felix is about to ask why we're down on the floor when the spotlight flicks on once again, showering our booth in light, earning a collective gasp from everyone who has no idea what happened, including Mark but excluding Felix, who instead stares at me and Sean with a look of confused yet noticeable realization.

'LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE OUR LUCKY CONTESTANTS! YOU TWO TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO GET OUT FROM UNDER THE TABLE AND WE CAN START.'

We're perfectly concealed under the table and there are no cameras in our area, so how they know we're under there is beyond me. Sean sheepishly stands up first, and then goes to the other side of the booth to help me, while Mark and Felix start shuffling towards the dance floor.

'ALL RIGHT, DUET DANCE OFFFF! PAIR UP!'

I glance at Felix, and Sean glances at Mark. _Well, that was easy._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'What are we dancing to, exactly?' I wonder, as Felix and I walk over to one side of the floor, while Sean and Mark take the other.

'Fingers crossed it's not couples music or whatever,' Felix says in response even though I voice my question quiet with an unexpected answer, and he has a point. It will be very awkward for both parties if that happens. A, we do not need any Septiplier issues on our hands, should someone record this and post it. B, not only is Felix dating someone, but I will feel weird slow dancing with someone who is way older than I am. I may be 17, but you're not going to see me squealing over this opportunity like some crazy teens.

'ALL RIIIIIGHT, WE'RE GONNA BE PLAYING SOME REEEEEMIXES UP IN HERE - PEOPLE-MADE REMIXES THAT IS. HOLD ONTO YOURSELVES, LUCKY CHOSEN, CAUSE WE ABOUT TO START!!'

'Maybe they'll play your song,' I say, nudging Felix in the side. He seems to get what I mean, chuckling a bit before nudging me back carefully because I am on the right side of him. 

_I got no time, I got no time to live..._

I recognize the song immediately. The Living Tombstone remixes songs all the time and this one's the first one I ever heard from them, when I looked up Undertale stuff. I start doing Thriller type moves all over the dance floor (as best as a one-armed girl can do it), and Felix tries to follow suit even though he is slightly confused.

They stare. They all stare. The reactions have been slapped off their faces and their interest, piqued. Sean and Mark throw in some funky cha cha moves while they're at it.

The moves are so smoothly creative, and creatively smooth, and other jumbles people want to say for any words, that no one can pick a winner. As we listen to the voices, it sounds as if everyone's clearly divided in two.

_OMG! Did you see Sean's boss moves?!_

_Who cares about that?! Felix is where the action's at!_

_Nah, he's got nothin' on Mark!_

_I think Iffy's got them beat! #girlpower_

That's how all four of us walk out that night at 11:38 pm with the largest dancing trophy ever known to Twirly, the club's nickname. Does it even have a real name? Who knows!


	5. One of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Iffy finally cool enough to be considered a part of this squad? That's what she wants to know... apparently not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert!: This chapter is somewhat nonsensical in the section where Felix tries to prank Iffy and it backfires. Brace yourself.

'Are you sure you even want me here?' I ask nervously, unable to believe where they've taken me this time.

There's another PAX a month later, in late, late November, when, by now, I (and my stuff, of course) have taken a home on their 4th floor with all the pets. They mean me no harm (at least I think they don't?) but I can't help but be a bit afraid of Chica, Gizmo, and Edgar (and Maya when Marzia swings on by; she's in a mock sorority house with Amy, Signe, Molly, Mandy and Mary) when they're in the same room as me, ever since that rabid dog situation from the last PAX.

I'm not falling from 18 feet in the air this time, thank goodness, but I'm not grounded to the seat I'm supposed to be sitting in, either. Or, at least, not the one I thought I was supposed to be in. As Mark, Felix, Sean, Amy, Bob, and Wade look on from the old sensible couch behind me, I'm pacing nervously across the stage in which the panel is taking place on.

'I'm pretty sure these guys have never been surer of anything,' Bob says, jerking thumbs at Sean, Mark, and Felix, laughing when he in turn earns playful punches from all three of them. _Not enough hands,_ I wonder, and I'm not sure if I mean on Bob or the trio. 

'They want you here,' Bob continues, 'they wanted you to see what being on stage of a PAX feels like - you know, once you make more videos that provoke coming here, that is.'

He has a point. Besides the robot music video, I have thrown in a couple of semi-personal vlogs because I don't want to leave my channel empty, be a quitter. There's still so much video potential I have, though. I'm determined to do it, so it will be!

I finally stop pacing. I turn toward everyone, taking this all in. 'This is actually happening, huh?' I say, to myself, tapping my chin in thought. The Kipsys had said I would make it onto PAX someday, but I bet they didn't expect it to be this early.

Screaming cuts off my thoughts. I turn my back to everyone and face the audience area, where a couple of early fans have made their way into the space and are now pointing at everyone on stage and squealing. I take that as my cue to cross over behind the sensible couch and park myself behind it. Then I peek out over the sides, on my knees, where I see Amy, Mark, and Wade tending to the few that dare to move up as others file in. Sean, Bob, and Felix are still sitting on the couch, now peering over the top, looking back at me.

'What are you doing back there, silly? The action's out here!' Felix reaches over behind the couch to try and grab my arm, but I move it out of reach, having had enough of Warden Felix already. 'I'm fine right here,' I say. 'I say it should either be this or a super front row seat to PAX. Besides, there's a pillow back here to keep me some comfy company.'

'Suit yourself,' Sean says, and they leave me be.

The convention starts, goes on, and ends. So much crazy happens, and I'm too worried about them falling off the stage. They seem to have migrated that way for some reason...

**_Admit it, if they all fell, you'd probably be laughing your face off. You're only human, so..._ **

Wait, what?! Where the heck did THAT thought come from??

_What are you talking about?_

Why am I trying to talk to this voice? Well... think to it, I suppose. There's no answer, anyway, so I turn back to focus on hoping they don't fall off again instead.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Where to now?' Mark asks, glancing around. 

As soon as PAX broke off, Amy went back to her house and Bob and Wade went off to go see Tyler. That had left Sean, Mark, Felix and me off to our own devices, as usual.

I start kicking rocks on the ground as we walk, but I can't do it for very long because my left arm keeps swinging when I do it. Rocks don't deserve my kicking. Perhaps if I am being stoned (please, no jokes about how stupid this wording is) I'd know the pain they'd experience if they'd been alive?

'Just a day out for a cafe sounds a-okay, right?' says Felix, and I can't help but note his expression and tone when he says it. Mischievous? His eyes seem to send off that message, and more... Uh-oh, anything occurring after such a face is automatically jinxed to never go well. Little did I know that I would be right about that quite soon...

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first sign that I'm being pranked should have come to me when Felix led us to totally not-a-cafe. It seems to be more akin to an old-abandoned warehouse place that could be a fixer-upper motel if they tried. Whoever they are, or would be.

Sean looks up from the book he has been carrying. 'Where the heck are we, Fe? This isn't our usual cafe. Frankly, it doesn't even look like one.' He tilts his head at it. 

'That's cause it's not, Jackaboy,' Mark interjects before Felix can say anything to try and justify his actions. 'You want to tell us what you're up to here, Fe?' He points at the building with one hand while his other rests squarely on his hip.

'All in good time,' Felix says with a joking scowl. 'Must you doubt me so?' Him saying that hasn't alleviated any warnings I have about this place. If anything, I'm more worried about what might go down.

The warden has slapped his handcuff on me again and is pulling me along inside, though a little tighter than last time, followed by Sean whose head is down in his book again. Mark is lagging a bit behind us as he glances around with conspicion (confusion-suspicion or perhaps sufusion is better? You tell me!), wondering what Felix is trying to pull today.

As we reach the start of a long hall, Felix releases his grip on me. I stare down the long hallway which is too dark to see anything. I'm half expecting someone to apparate out of nowhere, grab us by our necks, and demand we GET OUT. I've been watching waaaay too much Hello, Neighbor! stuff, and I feel like I'm going crazy. 

Sean starts to walk ahead, toward the hallway, expertly maneuvering around me and Felix, still without looking up, when Felix juts an arm out in front of him to cease motion. That makes him stop and finally look up again, throwing Felix a questioning look.

**_Hey! What the heck is this BS?! Tell me you're not going down there?!_ **

There's that voice in my head again. Which is, unfortunately, my second warning. I don't listen to it, obviously, as Felix pushes me into the hall. 

'Ladies first,' he says, with a wicked grin and a voice that didn't quite sound his own. 'Just make your way upstairs. We'll meet you up!' 

I raise an eyebrow at him, as do Mark and Sean, probably wondering why they just can't go with me, but none of us have any time to question him, as I suddenly feel pulled in, making my way down the sideways abyss. I'm not exactly falling, but I am still heading towards the dark, trying to get the moaning and groaning that I _clearly_ hear out of my mind.

The flights of stairs I approach don't give me a warning omen, and neither do the double doors I pass to reach them. But they should have. Just as I reach the steps, they swing open, and a sudden sense of deja vu strikes again at the first bark.

There's not nearly as much as last month's excursion; from what I hear there's only 5, but 2 have fleas and 1, rabies; none are things of which I'm particularly excited to catch, as I scream my way up the steps to the next floor without looking back. Water suddenly drenches me from all directions as I reach the top floor, buckets being thrown by shadowy silhouettes in this twisted little prank game. (I found out later they were Wade, Amy, and Bob.) 

I screech to a stop, or try. I don't hear the dogs anymore. But my feet slide along the ground (curse you, non-friction... somehow) and I go flying through the open window off the second story, which is thankfully not very high up. In short, I slide off 13 feet and crash into a soft, mushy mulch pile without breaking anything else. Mulch is known for caking and stinking, which I don't appreciate it having done to me right now. 

Revisioning past events is never fun. Especially when said revisions are particularly nightmarish. But I end up having some anyway: the 11 dogs from PAX chasing me up the winding straight stairs, falling 18 feet with supposed low chance of survival, somehow only getting away with a broken arm.... How lucky I was to be alive.

Laughing. Why am I hearing this? I glance out of the pile, in which I'm turned face down, and barely make out Felix trying not to bust a gut, initially a giggle that sounds inhumane, as if the idea of me falling to an almost death is the funniest thing he's ever heard. Wade, Amy, and Bob are laughing alongside, albeit with much less intensity while Sean and Mark look on in shoncern (shock-concern and we won't have any discussion on why the other combo is not appropriate. Figure it out.). Them laughing kind of reminded me of what the inner voice said to me last month.... and I've come to the conclusion that they're, unfortunately, human, and I'm not.

' _Et tu_ , Amy?' I ask her, somehow expecting the guys to pull a prank (but not this mean), and not having her get in on it. She quiets down and merely offers a shrug; she doesn't want to explain.

Bob and Wade aren't laughing anymore either. But it seems they're just trying not to, with pained expressions. Felix is still laughing, his eyes momentarily flashing with dripping blue. _Wait, what is that?!_ Despite all efforts to calm him down by Mark and Sean he can't help himself. I can't believe the one who saved me from a nightmarish situation throws me in the middle of another. For the longest while, I just stare, unsure what to do.

**_Get out of this toxic circle. Back to people who_ don't _make you deja vu in the worst way. Make it big among the appreciative._**

'Maybe I will!' I say out loud, and take off sprinting, racing against the clock for my stuff, with the nightmared laughs and confused shouts of my former comrades all piling up behind me.

 

I don't turn back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if anyone knows what the bold italics mean XD


	6. A Letter to Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy writes a short letter to Felix, ranting and raving about the unfortunate events of the past month and two weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind this is FICTION before you start taking any of this seriously. It's a short chapter, so sorry

"Felix,

I can't believe you and the guys would do this to me, fooling me into thinking I could ever be one of you.

You know that last month had been a terrible time for me?! I was this close to getting rabified! I still don't know where those dogs went after that; maybe they were caught. Maybe they went back to the room they were in without any indication of getting a cure. The point is, I thought that I could forget that happened.

But now you've made me have to revisit it all over again! What if I was on a higher floor?! You could have killed me, or given me hypothermia if that ice water was any colder or the temperature of the building. What kind of person does that?! That wasn't a prank, that was just too cruel. You were the one that saved me, and then you pulled this giant paradigm shift?

I don't think we want to see your face anymore. It's going to take a lot of strength to resist punching it every day. In a few days time I'll be on the next plane back to Texas. Perhaps this place wasn't cut out for me after all. I can't have people who are trying to come after me, put me down, make me feel even smaller than I already am, being 17 and all.

So it's with a spiteful heart that I bid you adieu. Too bad I'm too chicken or perhaps you may have seen this letter by now.

~~Sincerely,~~

~~Best regards,~~

~~Love,~~

~~Take care,~~

~~~~

Iffy"


	7. Making Your Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark offers to talk things out with Iffy to apologize - while Felix, Sean, Amy and Wade accidentally stumble upon her rant letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The POV will switch from Iffy to Felix in this chapter.

Someone tell me why I agreed to this again?

I'm sitting in my room, back at the hotel, door locked, head in my hands, contemplating my life choices. Nobody beat me to the house (not that that's news or anything), my stuff still remaining in the duffel I'd brought it in. So luckily it wasn't that hard to grab my belongings and take a flying leap out the window (more irony for you) back to the hotel I was previously in. I was just glad those hotel people weren't pissed at me for leaving and then deciding to come back.

I'm still not over Felix's nasty so-called prank. Can we even call it that?! I'm having terrible backflashes! (As opposed to flashbacks, which are actually pleasant, mind you...) Lately they came whenever they wanted, and then I'm on edge for a few hours. So as I hold my hands in my face and prepare to start again, there's a knock on the door that makes me scream, jump up from my spot on my bed, and then immediately dive behind it.

'Iffy? I need to talk to you. Open the door!'

I know that baritone voice anywhere. Carefully, I inch toward the door and peer out the peephole because if any strings are coming attached to this unexpected visit - meaning Felix - then there's no way I'm opening this door. Through it, I see Mark twisting and fidgeting on his feet, hands bound behind his back as if they were tied. I can't see anyone else out there with him, but I still call out, 'Is anyone else out there with you?' as I keep staring out the hole. He replies with a definite no, so I unlock the door then.

I pull open the door. 'What are you doing here, Mark?' 

He sighs. 'May I come in?' he asks, and gestures to the room behind me. 

'Sure,' I say, and step back so he can pass by. He comes in and sits cross-legged on my bed while I pace back and forth in front of him, hands bound as Mark's had been earlier. 

'So what brings you to my room?' I ask.

He doesn't look me right in the eye, or won't. 'Why are you leaving?' Mark asks bluntly. 

I stop right in my tracks. Well, geez - save some bushes, I guess, but did he just have to spit it out that way, like I have no reason the feel like I do? And exactly how does he know that was my plan?!

I decide to play dumb. 'I'm not leaving, there's no time limits on my ticket, anyway,' I say, pulling it from my floral skirt pocket and waving it around.

He grabs my arm and slams it back to my side. 'You left the house, that's kinda what I meant. But I know you're considering going back home today, Iffy. Don't play games with me.' 

I raise an eyebrow at him. 'Tell me you're joking!' I cry out exasperatedly. 'You expect me to be able to look Felix in the eye without wanting to punch him?! Do you know what he did to me? I go sliding 13 feet out a building, covered in ice water, onto a not-so-soft mulch pile, and you expect me to laugh like that was hunky-dory fine??'

I throw my hands up in the air then, in frustration. 'That day at last month's PAX was the scariest thing I could have ever endured. I could have been injured, sick, or worse, dead! I would have to have gotten many shots if any of those dogs got to me, or maybe I would have broken more limbs from that fall!' I raise my left arm again, which is no longer slung and broken but still difficult to move. I start pacing again.

'He's lucky I didn't break anything else.' 

'Perhaps,' Mark says with a shrug. 'Still... that's no reason to let Felix get to you, though. You can make it in this business without the likes of him slowing you down. Don't let him be the reason you give up.' Then Mark slowly extends at arm towards me. 'Let me and Sean take you out for a soda or something. Maybe we can make it up to you.'

'But you don't have to make anything up to me,' I say. 'You had no part in Felix's little plot.' 

Mark shrugs again. 'Can't hurt to be nice, right?

 _It would probably hurt Felix..._ I think to myself.

I stop pacing and face Mark. 'Perhaps,' I say with a shrug of my own. Mark chuckles at that. 

I throw my hands up in mock defeat. 'All right, you win. A soda does sound good right about now.' I crack a small smile, also grateful that Mark had been thoughtful enough to have not said coffee, and he returns the gesture. Mark texts Sean asking to join us. Then I grab Mark by the arm to pull him off my bed. I make sure to grab my tan knapsack with my fisherman's hat inside before we're out the door.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Felix's POV**

'What are we doing here?' Sean asks with a glare, glancing down at his phone, telling Mark he can't go with him and Iffy, wherever they're going, while trying not to direct said glare at me, which I know full well is the case, and also fails, given his tone of annoyance.

'Did we learn nothing from last week about pranks?' Wade says, arms crossed with a sulking look, which may be partially from early December cold. 'I should have just stayed behind with Bob, but nope, I'm here instead, hoping my face will be broken in less than 2 places.'

We're in front of Iffy's hotel room. I have something planned, but decide to bring backup just in case. But I think I need better taste in backup.

'They're not here, Doofus Khan,' I say with a roll of my eyes, wondering why Wade's so scared of Iffy anyway. 'Besides, Iffy's gotta learn how to take a joke. She's too uptight and serious. And I plan to show her just that!'

'That wasn't a joke!' Sean snaps. 'What if you hurt her again?' 

I wave my hand in dismissal. 'All in good fun.'

Amy stares at her feet, who knows what she is thinking.

'Anyway... how do you expect to get in there?' asks Sean, who has put his phone back into his pocket.

'Welp, we tried, let's go!' Wade says quickly, simultaneously while jiggling the knob, trying to turn to leave after letting go, only to be stopped by my outstretched arm in front of him - withholding a tiny silver-blue card.

He stares at it. 'Is that _Iffy's_ key card?! How'd you get that?!' he exclaims, trying to snatch it away from me. But I raise it over my head, out of reach, and somehow Wade still can't get it despite us all knowing how tall he is. 

'I have my methods,' I reply with a shrug, as I step up to the door of Iffy's hotel room, waving the card as if I'm casting a spell. Alas, it has worked, and I kick open the door as soft as I can muster, without the unholy bang of the door against the wall that usually accompanies such things. I stride into the room, followed by Amy who is still silent. Wade peeks in, worried that Iffy may still be in the room, still not coming in when he sees it's not so, while Sean maneuvers past to sit cross legged on the floor, on his phone again. 

'What are you even planning?' Wade asks, from behind the door, as I hold up some exploding dye packs. 

'You'll see,' I say. My plan is to leave all of them in certain places in her room, after I shake them, and shower her in a mess of color. A smile appears on my face just thinking about it. I place them back in my pocket, just so, in a way that they won't shake. Then I glance over at Sean, who is absorbed in his phone for some reason.

 _He's probably texting them again,_ I think, smile fading, and I get overly angered by this for some reason. I stalk over to Sean and yank the phone out of his hand, earning a surprised look from him in turn. Without thinking, I whip it behind me, luckily onto the bed - where a faint crumple noise, like paper, can be heard.

Amy hears it, but Sean doesn't, and so while she goes to find out what is beneath the pillow, he jumps up and starts to yell at me. 'What's the big idea?! I was in the middle of something!' He dashes over for his phone again, but I grab it before he can, raising it over my head. Sean keeps trying to jump for it, and I smirk knowing how short Sean is - at least in comparison to the rest of us.

'I don't want you telling them anything about this!' I snap at him, even though I'm not certain why Mark and Iffy would believe him anyway, pocketing the phone. Sean crosses his arms and stomps out of the room to wait with Wade.

Amy reveals a crumpled up piece of paper from behind the pillow. She unfolds it and reads it for a few seconds, to herself. Then her face crumples a bit in confusion. 'Felix, why is Iffy writing this letter about you?'

'What??' I march over to the opposite side and take the paper from Amy. I read all the words on it before feeling a mix of anger and disappointment. Why am I disappointed? That she might have left? Should I even care? She clearly hasn't left already, too pathetic to follow through on her plans... 

Forgetting the prank, I shove the note in my pocket, wincing as if it stung my skin. Then I march out of the room, throwing Sean's phone to him (or more appropriately, AT him), as I keep going, whilst everyone in the associated party is throwing confused look after annoyed comment after foreboding silence my way. I ignore it all, not wanting to answer to anything as we exit the hotel and make our way up the street. We're a good ways away from the hotel when Sean finally confronts me. I know he's the only one willing to do it, since Amy is silent once more and Wade still looks too nervous to try.

'Why are you so sulky??'

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Iffy's POV**

'What were they doing here?' Mark asks, pointing out into a far distance. I turn where he's looking. 

We have just gotten back from Corner Bakery and are approaching the hotel. In the distance, I can make out four figures in Mark's direction. I raise an eyebrow. Felix, Wade, Amy, and... Sean? What on earth was he doing with them? And, as Mark said, why were they here?

'I guess Sean wanted to hang out with them instead,' Mark says, though he doesn't sound convinced. 'When I asked him to come by, he said something was holding him back, that he was preoccupied.'

'But with them??' I ask, incredulously, despite hearing Mark's tone. I'm about to put my face in my hands when I look over again. 

Wait... 'He's slouching over there,' I say, noticing they have all of a sudden stopped, with Sean having taken the lead on them then, cutting off Felix. Amy and Wade still stand stock still, like statues. It sounds like someone is yelling there, probably Sean to Felix, but we can't hear any details of what's being said. 'I don't think he wanted to be over there...'

Leaving that thought in the air, I turn to the hotel door, finally, which we have managed to migrate towards despite the setback. I push it open, and Mark follows me in, carrying our takeout from the bakery. I would have carried it but Mark insisted on it.

'Why do you think he went?' Mark asks while we're in the elevator. I can only shrug at him as it rises to my floor. I still can't think of why all four of them would have come by the hotel, all at once. Felix knows I wouldn't have answered the door had he approached it, and Wade and Amy are too scared to come by themselves, individually or even just the two of them, to say anything to my face. Even if this were for an apology, Felix wouldn't have gone with them... 

Uh oh.

As soon as the doors of the elevator part I race down the hall. I'm panting but the time I reach my room (in some record time), fumbling for my room key, Mark comes lumbering behind a few moments later with a bewildered look plastered on his face. 

'What was that about?!' he sputters, almost dropping the food. Waving my key to open the door, not answering him, I take the food from Mark before throwing open the door.

Everything the room seems as I left it, except for my pillow on the floor. Which, alone, wouldn't have worried me. But when I see a significant piece of paper missing from the flat, peachy bedspread, the panic immediately sets in.

_'This is worse than any prank they can conjure!'_ I scream, out loud, yet to myself, as I throw myself to the ground, bags abandoned on the top of the bed, looking under. 

'What are you talking about?' Mark, who overhears, asks as he watches me trying to dig underneath to find something.

I sigh. 'I wrote this really stupid letter about Felix, just ranting over what happened last week and how the PAX incident kinda flashed before my eyes, how lucky I was to be alive, and all that. I wasn't going to send it, of course, because I didn't have the heart to.' I look up then, and raise myself off the floor. 'But it's not here.' 

Mark raises an eyebrow. 'How would they have gotten inside? And you never threw it out?'

I shake my head. 'These people will give access cards to almost anyone these days.' My voice has an unexpected bite to it, which does startle Mark. I make sure not to show it when I speak again. 'Besides, it was under my pillow. Reading it to myself made me feel better, for some reason. But now that's it's missing, I think it means Felix must have taken it instead of planning some prank that he was probably going to do! I don't want him spreading it on his channel! What am I going to do now?!' I start running around, pulling my hair out as I go.

'Eat something before you panic,' Mark says calmly, taking the items out of the bed before spreading them out. 'Don't worry. Sean and I will deal with him.'

I stop running and look at him again, shaking my head in mock disbelief before joining him to finish the rest of our stuff. It amazes me how calm Mark can be about this, when I'm freaking out in my head over this.

Little do I know that Sean and Felix are in a very similar situation to what's going on right now - who knew Felix would be filling my shoes in this role?


	8. Rabid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy thought strange, unknown rabid dogs were bad - but now Maya and Gizmo have both mysteriously caught a mini yet temporary case and go after her.

'Are you okay, guys? You're not looking so well.'

Another month passes by, into January, and despite not returning to the house, I still hang out with Mark and Sean sometimes. They are the only ones willing to come up to talk to me. Amy and Bob are still too scared to try apologizing, as is Wade, albeit less so, and the chances of Felix doing it are as good as pigs flying.

It's not them I'm talking to, though, but Gizmo and Maya. I've been put in charge of taking the dogs out to the park while everyone's out & away. Of course, I don't mind, and as soon as we're there, Chica and Edgar sprint off to start chasing one another. Gizmo and Maya lay lazily where they are and have been for a half hour. But they suddenly don't look so well.

I stand up from under the tree I'm sitting under and turn the book upside down that I'm reading. Smoothing out my yellow and green gingham dress, I cautiously make my way over to them. I don't even notice Chica running full force in my direction while Edgar tries to catch her until they barrel into me and knock me right over.

'Whoa!'

Unceremoniously landing on the ground, I glance over my sides. Chica and Edgar run up to lick my face, to which I playfully try to shove them off. Every time any of the dogs knock me over, all of them come and do this, depending on how many of them are around while I'm dog-sitting. Edgar is always the one I'm least accustomed to since he is Felix's dog, which means I don't get to watch him very much. Marzia always has to convince him (like now) to let me watch Edgar. None of the pets can usually follow their respective owners anyway.

So you can imagine my confusion (at least I hope you can) when Gizmo and Maya don't follow suit - which means they're not also licking my face. They're usually more eager than Chica or Edgar, typically being the cause of my falling over. But now? They're just staring, eyes looking awful menacing. Almost... bloodshot? I sit up, looking worried. _What happened to them?_

Then I hear growling, and foam starts to run out of their mouths. 'Rabies?!' I whisper-shout, slowly backing away (in a crab walking fashion) in horror. How would they catch that?! No way would Sean and Marzia not get their dogs rabies shots, and even so, if they somehow forgot, why would it strike now of all times, since the park is relatively empty?!

My eyes bulge right out of their sockets, almost, and Gizmo takes this opportunity to try and pounce on me, teeth bared. I scream (bloodcurdling, of course), before springing to my feet and turning to run, with only one of my Mary Jane's left on my foot, having accidentally kicked the other one off. I can hear the dogs all behind me, as I scramble through the park. I barely throw a look over my shoulder as I see that Chica and Edgar have taken up the lead among the four, now running by my sides. They appear unaffected (thank the LORD). I turn back to the front view so I can't see Gizmo or Maya behind us.

**_This game is quite entertaining! But I'm bored, human._ **

There's that voice again! But why does it speak as if it's an entity, and not just a voice of my mind?

_I'm not here to entertain you. This isn't a game! Why don't you be a reasonable brain and tell me how to dodge this?!_

And all I hear is laughing, echoing through my mind, before I crash, burn, and black out.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'She's awake!' 

Wait... Irish?? Wait again... why's it so familiar?

My eyes flutter open. I almost didn't realize they were closed. Sean's hovering over me, looking worried. As I turn to the side he is sitting on (my left?), I spot Mark, Amy, Wade, and Marzia standing a slight ways behind him. 

'What happened?! And how did you all get here so fast??' I can't help but ask, knowing that at least Sean and Marzia had flown to wherever they had gone, while Mark's took a long car drive. And the chances of Amy and Wade, who didn't go away for the weekend, just happening to be out and about doesn't exactly resonate with me. The other thing that isn't resonating is why I'm not in a hospital.

'You're back at the house,' Wade says, confirming what I'm thinking. 'You slammed right into a tree when you were running! The doctor checked for a concussion, gave you some pills, and then sent you on your way.'

I reach up on my head. Another compress.

'Are you okay?' asks Amy, who scratches her head sheepishly. 

I nod, but not too hard as to not upset my throbbing head further, or to knock off my cold compress. 'I'm glad you're all back though. I hope your trips weren't cut short because of me.'

Marzia shakes her head. 'Oh no, it was the last day. We had just made our way back to our homes when Amy and Wade called and told us you were in the hospital! We practically threw our stuff inside and rushed down here ASAP.' 

I tilt, as best I can muster, toward Amy and Wade. 'What were you guys doing out?'

Wade gives me a small smile. 'Oh, we had just finished this movie that Amy insisted she had to see.' He laughs when Amy mock punches him on the shoulder. 'We were near the park, and were going to pay you a little visit. But then we saw you running away from the dogs. We called out to you, but you didn't hear us. And when you slammed into the tree we rushed you down to the hospital as quick as we could possibly do.'

Amy adds, 'We figure this is the least we can do for you.'

I can't believe they have done that for me. I give a slight smile. 'Thanks, I really appreciate it.' 

 

 

Sleep comes easy that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demons. Must they be so cruel?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _Yes. Yes we must._


	9. Where's Wade?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wade wanders off on the Idiotest studio lot, and now Mark, Iffy, Sean and Felix have to play the biggest game of "Where's Waldo?" with a hint of Idiotest to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Idiotest is my favorite game show XD

'I can't believe we're actually here!' I say. 

None of us can, actually.

Another week after the rabies incident (in which Sean and Marzia went and got shots for Gizmo and Maya again), I've recorded a Let's Play of Idiotest - for all 30 levels up so far (soon to be adding the new 8). The videos start racking up, and so do the comments across YouTube and Twitter.

I was on my Twitter 4 days ago when I got a DM from Ben Gleib, the host of the show. Imagine my surprise when Ben Gleib has invited me to LA for 2 weeks, to come watch a show LIVE (and then participate in a later show). He says I can bring guests, so I invite Sean, Wade, and Mark along. Only a few days later after we land do we find out that Felix flew in as well, just to go sightseeing. Even though I'm annoyed with him I don't mind if he comes along, for Mark and Sean's sakes of still seeing their friend. Wade isn't comfortable talking to Felix again just yet, so he stays near me as we make our way towards the lot.

Mark and Felix are engaged in some sort of conversation that involves mumbling and the occasional swear words. Wade stares at his feet, and Sean and I gaze around at what we pass. By the time we get there, we're ushered in to the very front of the rows. Sean's on one end, with me next to him; Felix is on the other end, with an old geezer trying now to fall asleep. Mark's in the middle of the row, with Wade 2 seats to his left, towards Felix. The rest of the seats are filled in with other people separating us all. In between Mark and Wade directly is some little girl who's screaming her mouth off about something. And right next to me is this silent ginger headed kid, reminding me of Omeros from back home.

Only it's not him. Way too short.

In the middle of the show, when the pairs are trying to answer questions on their own (already past the part when they both come up with them), Wade excuses himself to the bathroom, tripping nearly twice on his way out. Mark, Sean, and I giggle but Felix doesn't even appear to notice him leaving.

By the time the show ends, he hasn't come back. When we get off set, Felix seems to finally see he's not around, because he suddenly asks 'Where's Wade?' like a complete idiot (no puns intended).

Of course, I roll my eyes at that, and Mark jerks a thumb back towards the set entrance. 'Didn't you see him get up to go the bathroom? He passed by you only, how did you miss him?'

Felix rolls his eyes. 'We're not playing 20 questions. Now let's go look for him.' 

I bring out my camcorder as we start to look, and Sean asks about it. 'It's an idea I just got,' I say. 'You guys ever heard of "Where's Waldo?" '

Felix doesn't answer me, obviously. Mark and Sean nod their heads.

'This is kinda what we're doing, except we're looking for Wade. We can turn this into a fun little side segment, except it won't be this serious, of course.' 

'And the segment would be called "Where's Wade?", right?' Sean inquires. When I nod, he says, 'That's an interesting idea!' 

Mark hums in agreement, while Felix stares off into space.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes of footage and searching and we still can't find him. Mark says he needs to rest, and so sits on an approaching bench, head in his hands while Sean and I survey the footage we have gotten so far, still standing. Felix sits beside Mark, twiddling his fingers in boredom. 

We're barely situated 10 minutes before someone comes running up to us. She's out of breath, and her long, straight dark hair has flown into her tanned face. With one hand, she brushes it back, then adjusts her mini blazer. In her other hand, she carries a tablet probably about the size of your average SAT book (in height, not width).

'Are you an idiot?' she asks us, bluntly. 

That's the first thing she even says to us, no hello or anything, and unless you are familiar with Idiotest like I am, you're going to take this out of context and be dumbfounded. For some reason I don't take it in context either, and so then proceed in joining the men going 'Huh??' with our mouths wide open. In unison. Clearly, I am no fan.

She holds up her tablet. On it is Ben Gleib in one of his funky trademark faces, with the words "Don't be an idiot!" beside him.

'Ohhhh!' I say in realization. 'You want us to try our luck in an Idiotest, right?' 

She nods, then holds out the tablet to me. 'You can win money based on how quick you answer, and whether or not you get the right one,' she adds. 'So answer quick, and right!' 

I hand the camcorder to Sean, telling him to start recording again, then I tap the screen to get my Idiotest.

 

[](https://ibb.co/j4XTOG)

Obviously I recognize it from my experience on playing the levels online. I hit "Chip" within a few seconds and hand it back to the lady.

'You're fast!' she says, and tosses me an envelope marked $100. Wow, imagine that! 

I put it in my trusty knapsack as the lady now hands off the tablet to Mark. Glancing over his shoulder, I try to see which one he gets.

[](https://ibb.co/icpa3G)

Mark squints at it for a bit before tapping on what he thinks is right, which is the yardstick. He hands it back to the woman, and she in turn tosses him an envelope marked $85. 

'Nice work,' she says, 'just try and work a bit on reflex.' Then she passes it to Sean, who hands the camcorder off to Mark.

[](https://ibb.co/fj8Pxb)

Sean's face turns into one of super confusion. We're pretty sure he's swearing in his mind right now, trying to get this answer. He hits the stop watch reading 0.0 seconds before his 30 are up, with only 3 of them left on the clock. The lady tosses an envelope marked $45 at him before taking the tablet back.

'At least you got it right,' I say with a smile. He smiles back, though he looks a little drained, tucking his envelope away in his mini backpack slung across his left shoulder.

Felix is the last one to get the tablet. 'Too easy, this will be,' he says. "Bet I'll get more money than Iffy, I'll answer it that fast.'

I roll my eyes all the way into my head, Mark shakes in head in frustration, and Sean face palms 5 times in succession.

[](https://ibb.co/kKEQ3G)

Of course Mr. High-and-Mighty gets the answer wrong, slamming his finger on the bald eagle instead of the crying child. He holds out his free hand expectantly, but is met with a blank stare. Finally, the lady tries to take the tablet out of his lowered hand, but he yanks back at it. 'Hey! Give me my prize money!'

_'Felix!'_ all three of us exclaim in hushed unison as we rush over, with Felix throwing a fit and the lady looking flustered beyond belief as they play tug-of-war with the tablet. I hope they don't drop it. 

'We're in _public!'_ Mark hisses, as he grabs Felix and tries to pull him away, still with camcorder in hand. Felix's trying to grab the lady with his hand that isn't on the tablet.

'You're making a fool out of yourself!' Sean says, as he tries help the lady get free by slapping at Felix's hand. 'He's delirious!' he says moments after. 'He's got the strength of 10 men!'

'Maybe you shouldn't have been so cocky!' I yell, as I make haste to pry the tablet away, getting the camcorder from Mark in the process. 'You didn't even read the question right. It said "bawled", like crying, not "bald"! Geez, why can't you ever admit when you're wrong?!' 

Felix whips his head toward my direction, with an angry dripping blue eye on me. My eyes widen, as, you know, human eyes tend to do. _Again with the dripping blue?! What's up with him?_

I'm so shocked, I lose my grip on the tablet and fall over on my back. The camcorder hits the floor and I'm hoping it isn't cracked. Mark finally manages to pull Felix off, and he has calmed down substantially. Sean hands the lady her tablet and she runs away screaming. Mark tries to make Felix "wake up" from his dazed state while Sean tries to pull me to a sitting position.

'Are you okay?' 

I rub my head. 'I think?' I look up and over to my right. A familiar figure comes running (well, stumbling) up. Wait... I recognize that thinning head anywhere.

 _'Wade?!'_ Even Felix joins the rest of us in the cry. 

He looks disoriented, rubbing his forehead. 'Hey guys, did I miss anything?'

I hold up the camcorder. 'Yeah, a lot! Where were you?!'

Wade says, 'I got lost on the set, and then I got interrogated by some people with tablets. Asking me all these convoluted questions about who knows what. I got a few of them right, though, and they tossed me envelopes with money.' 

'Oh, the Idiotest people got to you too, it seems,' Mark says, running fingers through his red and black hair. 'They're pretty nice, but I'm surprised they haven't thrown us out of here yet.'

'Let's move before they get that idea,' Sean says, as he and Mark help Felix move along since he isn't moving very well on his own. I follow behind, and Wade's tugging on my shoulder.

'Wait! What happened?! Why would they throw you out?' he asks. 'You have to tell me!'

There's too much to explain to Wade: the whole 'Where's Wade?' game concept, answering the Idiotests, saving the lady, not to mention the demonic look Felix had for a split second (though I'd have to explain that to Mark and Sean too). Maybe I'll tell Wade the full story later, but not now, so for now this will do...

I turn off the recording on the camcorder before passing it off to Wade. 'We'll explain later.'


	10. Puzzling Outfits & Wigging Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy wants to make spontaneous outfits for viewers to judge while she plays Just Dance! How many can she do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is 4 days after the Idiotest incident, so you know.
> 
> Also, I will add pictures to this very short chapter!!

So much unchecked opportunity all in one place, in one closet.

After that little Idiotest stunt Felix pulled the other day, the hotel decided I'm not to get within 50 feet of it until the matter in question blows over. So after I am cast away onto the streets in Seattle again, I reach into my trusty Cracker Jack box (which is devoid of them all as of last week) and un tape the $$$ that the Kipsys have long taped on the inside. 

I'm not going to specify exactly how much was in there, but I will tell you that it was just enough for me to lease a town home for the 2 months I did it for (before I ended up back at YouTube House, and then in the next flight home).

And this alleged town home, with the two bedrooms and balcony with a view and winding hallway stairs that only go halfway that start turning into planks that are tied by strings to pull yourself up, is where I am now. I'm staring into the closet of the smaller of the two bedrooms, and the reason it's so small is because of the closet anyway.

With all the wacky wigs and crazy outfits I have, I might as well have come straight out of a Just Dance game. Omeros said that to me once, over a phone call he paid to me when I was still away in L.A. He said that I could have been a cyborg for the Daft Punk song in Just Dance 3.

A light bulb goes off in my head! Plus, _Just Dance with Iffy_ does have a nice ring to it.


	11. Luck of the Swedish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy goes tumbling off the roof of her school (unintentionally, of course) after trying to hide out from crazy YouTube fans! Which may have killed her... if a certain Swede had not been on the scene trying to redeem himself somehow!

It's the dogs all over again, except I'd rather take my chances with _them_. I wish my phone was here, but I remember that I dropped it with those vultures.

Yeah, I had to fly back to Irving early because school was starting up for second semester. The leasers were nice enough not to charge me while I was gone since I planned to fly back out as soon as the grading period was over. Sometime mid February...

Amy, Wade, Sean, Mark, Marzia and even Tyler and Bob had come to wish me farewell. For some reason, Felix was there too, turned away so we couldn't see his face. I did, though, and he portrayed it with a somewhat regretful look. Why would he even have this feeling? No way did he regret what he did to me. At least, he didn't look like he did.

Oh, wait! I'm getting ahead of myself here. I have to explain the meaning of the first thing I just said. Flashback to....

*****4 hours ago***** (insert GIF here)

 

It's Wednesday and I've failed trying writing an Episode in my Computer Programming class, as usual. I used to be good at it, but these days I have no drive. No one really cared about what I had to say until my channel - ALittleIffy, anyway - came about. Which only reminded me that a good chunk of the class wasn't doing their assigned work, but staring straight at me. I'd been trying to ignore it, but they were boring in a little too intensely for my tastes. Seeing as I was done with my work, I slammed my head down on my desk just so I wouldn't have to look at them. It worked, for a bit.

But then the bell went off. As I left my class, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was whispering my name. As if they were trying to call me quietly. The problem was, why were they doing that if we were in the hallway and not in the classroom? They didn't have to be so quiet until next period started, when we were _in class_.

It wasn't gone, though. I thought it was the voice in my head but I haven't heard from _her_ (she hates being called an **it** , from what I know now) in a while. So why was it when I turned to look for anyone doing it, no one was there?

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was halfway up the stairs from lunch when I heard the voices again. This time, when I turned, there they were. Coming up 3 x 4 - so 12 people, all chanting my name as if they were doing a séance. Which, unfortunately, I know all about. I won't get into specifics here, but there's a reason that over the few months that have passed so far, I've not mentioned the Game Grumps. They're definitely nice people (unlike Felix, at the moment) and I did actually get to see them (unlike Ethan, who's still trying to work that fan thingy out), but let's just say things got... spooky and I've never went back to the top floor of YouTube House ever again.

Anyway, I started to walk a bit faster. Having a free period usually had its perks, but today I wanted nothing more than to be in the safety of the class, where the worst they could do if they got mad was pester me with thoughtless words.

The footsteps continued to shuffle, and they only got faster. My hand slowly raised to my face, with my phone held in it. I hit a random SpeedDial and raised it to my ear. I wasn't sure whose voice I was expecting to hear, but I would never find out. As soon as they attacked, my phone fell, I screamed, and I heard a mess of voices pouring out of my phone, none of which I could recognize from so far away. 

I tore away from those crazy heathens, somehow, making a beeline for the stairs leading to the roof. I threw myself up the whole flight, then climbed the insane 17 rung ladder that led to the heavy cast-iron door that us students weren't allowed to surpass without permission.

I grabbed the cold handle, twisting, turning, and pushing as hard as I could, until I felt myself falling. I shrieked and my eyes closed. As soon as I hit the rough concrete surface my eyes opened again. The door was still closed. _So how did I get through the door?_ Evie would have dismissed this as one of "life's little surprises", if she was awake and listening. (Yes, the voice - pardon me, the _entity_ \- inside my head has her own name. She told me once, and when I dismissed it, let's just say "my brain is fried" takes on a more literal meaning when there's an entity - maybe a demon - screwing around in there. Luckily, it's only happened once.)

I dove behind an elevated piece of wall as the door started to tilt inward, meaning those crazy people were going to break the door down, any second now!

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Present time****

My breath is hitching. The door has slammed onto the ground as of a few minutes ago, and they're scuttling about, looking for me. I don't want to head back the way I've come, so I start squat-walking backwards, towards the edge of the roof, seeing if I can sneak behind the elevated piece of wall past them. Unfortunately.... I've miscalculated how far back I've stepped.... as soon as I feel air under my foot I go down screaming. 

The scuttling stops.

It's silent. Too silent.

I can't breathe anymore.

The height I'm falling from is too high for me to survive.

As I descend, I still can't help but wonder who had been on my phone when I tried to call. I don't what SpeedDial button I pressed, but there's no way it would have called so many people at once.

Almost there  
my life is over  
as I closed my eyes  
And waited....

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Felix's POV****

I've not been myself.

How can I think it's acceptable to let her fall 13 feet out a _building_?! 

Wait... that's right, it wasn't me. _I_ didn't find it acceptable.

**_Don't act like you didn't enjoy it, Felix._ **

Ugh, it's _him_ again...

I'm ignoring him. Mentioning his name pisses me off to no end, but I know I'll have to do it sometime.

I have to say sorry to her.

That's why I'm here, in Irving, outside Ranchside High School, waiting for them to be dismissed, somewhat knowing what I want to say. Now the only thing that I'm hoping is that I don't sound dumb....

A whistling sound enters my thoughts. It's not Infelix aka KillDoubleDie (yes, there's a YouTube for demons, get over it) because he doesn't know how. It's sounding outside my ears, though, and is coming from my right.

**_What's that sound, Fe? Might want to go look...._ **

_Why?_

**_I'll prove to you I'm not 100% morbid thought. You'll want to go look at this._ **

 

Sometimes Infelix can be useful.

 

There's scuttling above me as I start moving over towards the back of the school. I glance around, looking for people that may recognize me despite my oversized sunglasses. Iffy got me started on them. She had the right idea. I just wish I hadn't turned into a jerk. But with Infelix inside of me he can strike at any time. She'd never understand my predicament.

As I contemplate the meaning of life I hear a scream that pierces my thoughts. Still seeing no one out of my peripherals or my direct sides, I look up.

And see Iffy rocketing down from far above. What the heck?!

**_She was on the roof, dummy._ **

I roll my eyes. _Yeah, I FIGURED. But why was she even up there? And don't you DARE say suicide._ I add as I look at Iffy who seems to fall slower in my eyes. Even though that is not the case.

**_You know my thoughts aren't as dreary as Anti's or Dark's. No, it appears she was hiding up there. Someone chased her up there and she lost her footing..._ **

Iffy is only a quarter away from splattering on the lot.

**_How about MOVE before she actually does!!_ **

_Whoosh!_

As if I'm pushed from behind, I stumble forward with my arms out in front of me, trying not to trip myself. Within seconds I catch Iffy whose eyes appear to be closed. I stumble to the floor as I do so, her head slightly grazing the concrete.

Relieved as all hell, I reach into my pocket for my phone, still holding Iffy, shaking it with my trembling hand as I make haste to hit my SpeedDial option 1. I raise the phone to my ear.

'Mark? You need to get down here right away...'


	12. Downfall in Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite her best efforts of avoiding their dogs all day, Iffy gets knocked out by the long flight of stairs that Chica accidentally pushes her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Originally called "Downfall by Stairs"
> 
> Robin and Cry come about here. Plus, Tyler won't be just a mention.

****Iffy's POV****

_They're nowhere in sight. Good._

It's only been a day since that little roof stunt. You'd think it'd be longer, but I didn't fall into comatose, just a little headache. When I woke up, I saw Mark and Felix staring back at me, both wondering how I was so calm after all that, as I was simply dismissing it as one of "life's little surprises". They both thought I was insane but didn't press on.

Despite thanking Felix for saving me, even going as far to pay for my flight back to Seattle I still feel awkward around him, and despite his apologies he still feels the same around me. We're not mad at each other any more though, which is baby steps.

Right now I'm at the house watching the dogs again, or, more appropriately, _hiding_ from them. Marzia, Wade and Amy were here earlier when the dogs started going all hyper. Something tells me they got into the energy drinks again. We told Sean and Bob to keep them in the cabinet, even though they were so certain that Gizmo, Maya, Chica, and Edgar wouldn't be able to reach them. Mark told Sean that he and Bob shouldn't underestimate the power of the dogs... which the others managed to escape by going to fetch Robin and Cry, who were coming to visit, from the airport. Ethan still had so much paper work to go over, so he'd join us in a few weeks.

Anyway, I'm hiding out at the top of Mark's closet, trying not to be sniffed out by Chica, who I can hear padding outside the sliding doors. The sturdiness of this closet shelf surprises me, even though I keep hearing groaning and squealing from below me, which I keep thinking is the shelf about to collapse. The occasional scratching noise against the door makes me nervous as it means Chica's rubbing up against it. Hyperventilation is what I'm about to choose as my method of panic as the door creaks open....

_'Noooooo!!'_

It's not my voice, yet it startles me anyway. I scream myself before tumbling off the shelf... right onto someone! As they groan in pain, Chica starts yapping excitedly, from the far side of the room as she inches her way towards us.

I roll off, still lying down, and face the person I've landed on, who's rubbing his head in pain. I sit up incredulously. _'Tyler?! What are you doing here?!'_

He glances at me in his half-sitting position. 'We were playing hide and seek or whatever the other day; they tried to find me and I guess they forgot I was still hiding, since no one ever did. Mark didn't come back in because he slept on the fourth floor after the whole ordeal because they found him last - or at least, that's what I heard.'

'Why didn't you come out of the closet?'

He shrugs. 'I would've but I dozed off, I was that tired. I didn't even hear you come in, Iffy. Tell me, what were _you_ doing in there?'

I point at Chica who is still advancing at halfway point. 'Hiding from her and the others. They got all hyper again from Xtra Boom 8.'

 _'Again?'_ Tyler raises an eyebrow in incredulity. 'I thought we told them to keep that stuff in the fridge or cabinet.'

I shrug. 'Welp, not much to be done about that. I trapped the others in rooms. Chica's the only one who escaped from her room of capture... and unfortunately there was more Xtra Boom in there. You'd have never seen a dog jump 18 steps all in one go so fast!' And when I peer over Tyler's shoulder, Chica's already substantially close. 

I shoot onto my feet. 'I'm getting out of here before she gets any ideas!' I scream, and run from the room.

All the dogs do different things when they're on the sugar high. Edgar bites, Maya howls, Gizmo moves to guard mode, and Chica will just pounce on just about anything. Last time she did that, she was in the middle of a bath and leaped right out of the bath on top of me. Mark and Sean had to come pry her off of me, she was holding so tight.

I've made to the stairs to catch my breath on the rails when Chica come sprinting out of the room, ready to strike. As soon as she leaps, Tyler's head pokes out of the room. I move right - big mistake. Had I moved left, Chica would've just slammed me into the railing and that would have been to the end of it. Instead, I move into the head of the exposed steps. Right then, Chica jumps, angling so that she's headed right for me, and pushes me with her paws. Tyler's hands fly to his hands and he's screaming, and I can't hear him. Can't hear anything, my sore throat being the only indication that I have been screaming as well.

Unlike the other times, when Chica's claws sank into my clothes, causing her to hang on and pull back on me, her paws retract and she's back on safe solid ground, as her nails are not long enough to hang on. Mark's been clipping them because of situations like these. If only he could have see the irony of this exact one.....

I can't see anything  
except red, green, blue  
Over and over in my head  
Subtly laced with  
yellow, pink, black lines  
and golden stars  
in the mist  
will I even wake up again?

only time will tell....


	13. Comatic Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang tells Iffy what all she missed after her nasty fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set 3 months after the previous chapter.

_'How did I miss all of that?! You have to tell me! Let me go!'_

The panic of events has finally set in. My arms and legs try to flail but fail, being pinned down by Sean, Tyler, and Cry as it was already. They can't stop me from hyperventilating though, even if Mark, Robin, and Amy are determined to try. 

I can't believe any of this. My mind's kinda on a mini shut down. I'm refusing to believe anything they're telling me except Chica pushing me down the stairs. They've told me I was out for three months, but why wouldn't I know this then? I know better, there's no concept of time when you're in a coma - which I didn't believe at the time either. All they tell me when I wake is all of what I've missed...

'You missed so many PAX events!' Sean says. 'People kept wondering where you were...'

'And your "Where's Wade?" segment really got off the ground!' says Wade. 'Everyone's trying their own in a crazy style of their own!'

'By the way,' Tyler says adding jazz hands, 'Ethan's finally gotten all the paperwork done, it was so long. Marzia and Bob flew out to go help him move his stuff. There's only so much he can move on his own.'

I'm not listening, or barely am. They've lived their lives and I've lost mine. (I know I'm being dramatic, but as traumatized as I was what can ya do?) I start shaking. _'It's not fair!'_ I say, through gritted teeth. I try wrestling out of their grip. 

_'Iffy!'_ Felix yells, grabbing my shoulders and shaking them, trying to hold me still. _'You need to calm down!'_

**_You'd do better to listen to him, dear. What do you really know?_ **

Now Evie is trying to boss me around too?!

_'Don't tell me what I really know! You have no idea!'_ I scream, even though it's meant to be a thought to her, causing everyone in the room to jump in concern and fear. (I'm clearly in no mood to be meshing words.)

'Help me...' I say quietly, shaking in fear. I retract all my held limbs and curl myself into as tiny a ball as my body will allow. Felix, Amy, and Cry are staring into my face, Amy and Cry's faces twisted in pure confusion, and Felix's in utter realized horror. I want to cover my eyes. I feel they were probably, in fact, glowing right about now.

'What happened with your eyes?' Cry says, pointing, and I have a feeling one of my worst fears is realized.

Felix dismisses it with a wave of the hand. 'What are you talking about, Cry? Iffy is fine. We need to stop crowding and accusing her so much right now.' As soon as Cry turns away, I see Felix wink out of my peripherals.

 

Oh Felix, what would I do without you now?

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, I'm staying at YouTube House on the fourth floor because they don't trust me not to flip out on my fellow hotel neighbors if agitated the right amount.

Lying face up on my bed, I sigh. Why did I lash out at them? They were only trying to make me feel better. Internally, I smiled when they regaled all the tales, hearing what had passed and what people were doing with my stuff. I supposed I was sad because I wasn't included in any of it, that I didn't get to live any of it myself - kind of how I read books, always trying to put myself in the adventure somehow. It's weird, I know, but all the stories were always so much better than my own.

This story is definitely mine. And clearly isn't over quite yet. And now that I'm awake again, I plan to make sure of that.


	14. Challenges of the Phobiamatic Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean gets stuck on a glass elevator halted many stories up, then Mark takes a tumble off a bridge to water down below, and Iffy finally meets the new, scarier, demonic side of her that insists on defying the rules to rid her of shyness in the worst way. It's up to Wade, Amy, and Tyler (along with some other friends) to save them!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am (usually) scared of speaking up for myself :\ 
> 
> No, I haven't been arrested before (trust me) :P
> 
> Also POVs switch mostly between Iffy, Sean and Mark in this chapter! Tyler, Wade, and Amy are "saviors" for them in this chapter, so expect them to show up a lot. Robin and Cry will appear physically as well (with some demon possession), and the others may be mentioned by text message.

****Sean's POV****

'What are you going to do?!'

Why am I saying this to myself?

Why did I agree to go get Iffy's medicine from the top floor of Parkland Hospital, forcing myself to ride the glass elevator all the way up and out?!

You know, besides the glaring fact of the matter that Iffy's doing Mark's job of getting my and Felix's stuff for our next video, and he's doing mine of getting some mannequins transported, so I had to do hers?

Your guess is as good as mine. Seriously.

After getting off the bus, I end up near the parking garage. I know there's a way to get into the hospital from here, which would save me a huge walking distance to the front entrance. So as I reach the elevator inside the area and hit "12", I stand patiently and wait.

That is.... until the elevator stops 9 floors up. Which means I make the mistake of turning around nervously in my spot, looking out the elevator in the process, which I've temporarily forgotten is made of glass... I slowly sink to my knees. Maybe I should have just sucked it up and walked...

_Ohhhhhh..... this is going to be a nightmare._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Mark's POV****

_'What the heck?!'_

That's what I'm saying to myself as I get stuck across a highway bridge on my way to Gigi's Fashion Shop. I don't know why I agreed to this; she's expecting to help deliver some mannequins to her store (which I am completely TERRIFIED of!) in the middle of RUSH HOUR.

Meaning everyone rushed here in an hour, expecting it to be smooth sailing from here.

Well, technically, she asked Sean to do it, but he sent me since Iffy was doing something I'd asked her to assist me with, leaving him to do her task for the day. Still...

But, of course, those crazy rushers would be wrong. And so as I'm sandwiched between at least 6 cars (3 in front, 3 in back), I put my head in my arms and lean on the steering wheel, wondering when the line would get moving.

I must have been out for a while, because when I wake, some people are getting out of their cars and screaming, or so it looks, as I can't hear them. Someone's banging on my window, trying to tell me something wordlessly. There's nothing to hear.

 _Crunch!!_ (A/N: keep in mind that Mark can't hear that!)

The sensation of my stomach dropping has suddenly become way too evident for my tastes. I didn't realize I'd closed my eyes until I _did_ realize I had to open them again. My arms are still wrapped around the steering wheel, albeit tighter than before. I'm still staring ahead, out the front window on my car, unable to move anything else and wondering why the scenery in front of me was moving so fast.

It takes a few seconds before I finally realize it, in horror: I'm falling. _Insanely fast._

And only when I look down, trying to see where I will splatter on the cold hard ground, crushed by fellow cars - or worse, _crushing_ them - does the sound come back to my ears, when I realize I won't be hitting solid ground. And I open my mouth in a bloodcurdling scream that no one, not even Iffy, can match.

A watery grave is so much scarier than a concrete one.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Iffy's POV****

'Why can't I do this?!'

I'm screaming and running around outside Robin, Tyler and Cry's front door. Somehow they haven't heard me or are ignoring me.

Mark made me come over here to ask them for some things that Sean and Felix were going to need for a video later. Sean would have done it himself had I not sent him to get my medicine, leaving Mark to help Sean deliver some mannequins out somewhere. We are a weird trio, we are, cycling around jobs like that.

But I'm waaay too shy to knock on the door and ask for their items, whatever they may be. Why didn't we, if we absolutely had to, cycle the other way?! Then I'd be on a bus delivering mannequins, Mark would get my meds, and Sean would have asked for his and Felix's items directly, and it would have all worked out. Better than this, anyway.

**_But instead, I get to hear your stupid shy thoughts run in your head on a tortuous loop!_ **

Ugh, Evie, always showing up when she's not needed.

_Just go back to the Demon Realm until I get this sorted out. You like hanging out with Anti, Dark, and Infe, right?_

Those three have no idea what things Evie tells me about them having demons these days, including the fact that it was indeed Infelix that made Felix go all to the extreme with his so called pranks, since Felix later admitted he felt as if he had no control but didn't explicitly state the reason why.

She's gone deathly silent.

My head's aching massively all of a sudden, abruptly out of nowhere. I knock my fists against my head, trying to stop it, to no avail. I fall backwards, onto the stone steps outside the house (somehow without breaking a thing), holding my head as if were about to split in half.

_Boom!!_

My head actually does fly back a little further and graze the steps at the sudden invisible impact, followed by a glowing blue and red light in front of me. I try raising myself up, to the best of my ability, staring into it.

I scream when a hand, with sharp red, black, and blue polish on the 9-inchers, suddenly juts out and grabs my neck, which in turn effectively cuts said screaming short. The hand moves to my shoulder as another comes out and rests on the opposite side.

Oh no....

 

**_Guess who came out to play?!_ **

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*****Tyler's POV (2 hours later)*****

'Wade, we are NOT doing this right now!' I call out, hands cupped.

'You're no fun,' he whines, moments later, poking out from behind a tree he's currently hiding behind.

Wade and Amy had invited me on their random movie day, and we'd just left the theater. As we walked along the sidewalk, Amy was trying to tell me something, and Wade snuck off ahead of when our backs were turned. I knew he was trying to make one of us say 'Where's Wade?' because that means we are required to flip out or camcorders or phones and go looking for him, according to Sean, Iffy, and Marzia at least. Wade has done it enough times to make one of us want to strangle him, but the frequency of when he does, which is like twice every other week, kinda balances it out. However, I'm in no mood to go looking, ESPECIALLY since my camcorder is dead at this point, along with my phone (crazy power outage at the house - long story short, we warned Cry not to let Felix set up our console with that smoothie in his hand, and he somehow found a way to fry the circuits!). Amy's one of the few that doesn't participate in this challenge, along with Bob and the Game Grumps (though Wade seems unaware of this).

Her eyes are trained on her phone, texting feverishly as if her life depends on it. She then stops dead in her tracks, in front of Wade's hiding place, meaning I have to stop after her, since I'm staggering behind. Her face twists into one of confusion and concern. (If Iffy were here she might have said confern or concusion?)

'Who are you texting?' Wade asks as he comes out from behind the tree to stand behind us.

'And why does it have you so upset?' I add, peering over her shoulder, trying to read the text over it, to no avail.

'Signe,' she answers without looking up. 'She hasn't seen Sean in two hours even though he told her that the errand he was running for Iffy would only take less than one.'

As if on some mystery cue, Wade's phone dings in his pocket. He reaches for it and studies it carefully. Then he raises an eyebrow. 'Bob just texted me. He said Mark didn't come around either, never came back from his little delivery for Sean - and that there's some accident happening on the highway.' He looks to us with a worried profile. 'Do you think something bad might have happened to them?'

Before Amy or I can answer, though, I feel intense vibrating in the small satchel slung over my shoulder. My face scrunches as I pull out my phone, getting the shocking revelation of a full battery staring back at me. I raise an eyebrow at it in surprise, staring at it. 'I thought this was dead...'

My eyes blink rapidly as I suddenly read the message, hoping my eyes aren't playing tricks on me.

Amy, not hearing my voice after a beat, finally looks up. 'Who texted _you_?'

'Cry. Iffy never came over to get something from them that she was supposed to be picking up for Mark. All he and Robin heard was screaming from out front, but when they came to check outside no one was there.'

All three of us look at one another worriedly. 'We have to help them!' we all cry in unison.

'I'll go help Sean,' I say. 'Amy, you help Mark, so Wade, that leaves you with Iffy.'

They nod firmly. 'Okay, let's hurry!'

All of us dash off in separate directions, hurriedly texting our other friends to give us their whereabouts.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Sean's POV****

'Help!!'

In two hours, the elevator has somehow managed to come loose (like food in a can), in a sense, and already dropped 2 floors! If it drops any more, at a time at least, I won't live to get out of here. No one's answering the emergency calls, no matter how many times I pick up the phone and yell this; I'm not sure if it's because the connection up to it is cut or they're just out to lunch for some reason.

'Hey!' a voice suddenly calls out from somewhere, and right now I don't want it to be Anti, like it has been for the past few hours. Having your demon criticizing every single thing you're doing and thinking is just not fun. It's times like this that I'm glad he can't just come out of my mind anytime he wants, otherwise it would be harder to keep him at bay.

'Are you okay?!'

Now I know Anti would never say _that_ (at least, not to me). And it's faint enough to have me believe that it's someone outside somewhere calling. I peer out from my icy cold glass prison to the street below, across from the hospital, to see someone frantically waving their hands, staring me right in the eyes.

I know that beanie head anywhere. 'Tyler?!'

I don't know why I'm yelling like he'll hear me. But I'm shocked into submission when Tyler clearly answers me right back. 'Don't worry, I'm coming to get you down!'

'How?!' I cry out, deafening myself a good 11% with my voice bouncing off the walls, and still not questioning, out loud, to him, how we're even communicating. Tyler points straight ahead, towards the building (which is what you WOULD do when the person would clearly NOT hear you), and walks inside. As soon as he does, the elevator drops another floor.

Now on the 6th floor, I sink to the ground, drawing my knees in, hugging myself tight and shivering. It's not so cold inside the elevator (the sun warmed the glass) so I know I'm shaking purely out of fear. I drop my head down, wondering how Tyler plans to get me down.

My thoughts are cut short by my sudden downwards movement. It's as if something has pulled me through the glass and out of the elevator to the shaft, suddenly sending me flying! (I found out later it was Tyler's demon, Schism, that phased me through the floor.)

My arms fly up as I scream my way down, my voice starting to be lost to the makeshift breeze I'm creating. I shut my eyes, not willing to spare a glance to my concrete deathplace.

When I stop falling, I'm shocked by how soft my landing is. I feel around as my eyes remain closed. Cloth? And then I reach up and feel skin. My eyes shoot open. Staring into yellow flashing eyes, I realize then that Tyler had caught me, stopping me from hitting the ground.

'Are you okay, Sean?' he asks as he gently sets me on my feet, eyes turning back to normal. I stumble forward a little, and Tyler notices this and steadies me.

Holding my head mildly, I say, 'I am now. Thanks for getting me out of the building.' Pause. I glance up at him (yeah, his height rivals even Wade's). 'How did you know I was even here?'

'Signe told Amy that you were out here running an errand, and then told me and Wade.' says Tyler. 'I'm glad I got here when I did. Can you imagine if that elevator dropped and shattered into all those pieces?!'

I shudder as I follow Tyler out of the shaft through the doors. 'I'd rather not think about it.' I glance up at the elevator. It appears to be stuck in place now. I guess it couldn't handle my weight.

'Wait,' I say suddenly. 'Where are Wade and Amy? They were with you, right?'

He nods tentatively. 'Yeah, but they had to go save Mark and Iffy from whatever situation they were stuck in.' He then brings out his phone, taps something into it (possibly his passcode), then holds it out to show me. On the screen is a conversation between him and Amy:

_T: What's the word on Mark? :O_

_A: I can't find him anywhere!! I'm worried._

_A: I'm asking people around here if they've seen him, but they haven't!_

_T: Do you think... he might have... you know._

_A: I don't WANT to think like that, Tyler! :'(_

_T: I didn't say he was dead! He might just be thrashing about down there._

_T: I hope you find him Amy, he must be terrified right now..._

_A: Me too :(_

My eyes widen. 'Mark was in an accident?! And what do you mean by "thrashing about down there"??' I ask, hands over my mouth in shock without muffling my speech.

He taps on his phone again to show me something else. It's just a headline, printed out by itself: **_Gaping Hole in Highway Downtown! Many shocked, victim in need of rescue._**

'That highway is above the river...' I suddenly realize the gravity of the situation: for us _and_ Mark. 'We have to get down there and help Amy!' I say with shaky finality. 'Text Amy. Tell her we're going to be there ASAP!'

Tyler nods firmly, texts quick, and bolts out of the garage to where he parked his car, with me in pursuit.

**_Jesus, I hope we're not too late!_ **

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Mark's POV****

By some stroke of luck, or Dark's terrified entity of little power (right now, anyway), I'm not dead.

The water has only flooded half the car in 2 hours, my waist still above water, along with everything else above it, of course. My arms are still gripping the steering wheel, but my arms are now extended as I am leaning as far back as my seat will allow, without leaning the physical seat. I'm practically paralyzed, my feet are trapped beneath the seat and my legs under armrests; they were wedged in when I fell. My head is filled with terrified thoughts of drowning and dying, and I'm not sure if they're mine or Dark's.

My fear of going underwater trumps the mannequin one, obviously. Mannequins are much easier to get away from, but water is freaking everywhere! It's a good thing not all sizes scare me, or bathing and brushing my teeth were going to be a problem.

Dark's not saying any words, or thinking any at least, which is terrifying but not surprising. When something freaks either of us out, we're either panicking out loud or in complete silence. That's one of the many things that keeps Dark and me one in the same. If we were any more different, he might leave and form a body of his own.

Demon on the loose? No thanks.

Which I'm glad for. If he was a body all his own, I may have drowned 30 minutes ago.

I'm too far down to hear any coherent calls of panic out above me. How I wish to be up there, right now, safe on non-crumbling ground. I wouldn't care if the car sank to the bottom; I'd rather live than drive.

I start singing to myself, in an attempt to calm down:

 _On Christ, the solid rock I stand_  
_all other ground is sinking sand..._  
_All other ground is sinking sand..._

Don't ask me why I start singing that of all things - yeah, right, solid rock. Solid rock that broke and sent me spiraling to my doom.

I widen my eyes when I hear the melody of what I just sang hummed back to me. Then a soft tap on the window. Hesitantly, I turn - and see Amy, hovering outside over the slightly rogue waves. Her eyes are a transparent light blue color, like ice. The water has come half way up my stomach now, nearly at the chest...

'Mark!' she screams out to me. 'Open the door!'

I can barely move from my position, still stuck at the bottom half and too terrified to move my top half. I don't even question why Amy's floating above water (though I probably wouldn't have anyway). I feel Dark trying to help me move, trying to turn me toward the door...

And then I suddenly face it. Without hesitation, I unlock the door, and open it - having all the water start flowing in at once! As I start to sink faster, Amy grabs my arm and yanks me out to safety. She hoists me up with both arms around my waist - as the car sinks into the depth of the ocean and disappears.

'Amy?!' I finally say incredulously, as we continue to rise. 'How did you know I was here??'

'Bob told Wade that there was an accident out here, and that you were going to be on this highway then, and then he told me and Tyler! I'm just glad I wasn't too late!' she says.

I've got to remember to thank Icy as well. 'Where're Wade and Tyler? Why aren't they with you?' I ask.

Amy sighs, her eyes changing back. 'They had to go save Sean and Iffy. They were in trouble as well as you.'

When we hit solid ground (and no one was around), Amy whips out her phone and shows me the headline and conversation between her and Tyler. Then she shows me a conversation between her and Wade:

_W: I can't find Iffy...._

_W: disappeared without a trace :\_

_A: Where are you now?_

_W: back @ Cry and Robin's. They heard the scream fade away in the east and went looking there. They couldn't find her, so now I'm going to help them._

_A: Okay, power to you :)_

_W: Fingers crossed :(_

I cover my mouth in shock in case I start screaming. 'Iffy might have been kidnapped!' I say worriedly. 'We have to go help!'

'Mark! Amy!' a voice calls from behind us.

'Thank God you're both fine!' calls another.

We turn to see Sean and Tyler running right toward us.

Sean reaches us first. Mark and I encircle him in a hug, and Tyler joins in soon after.

'We're glad you're the ground again,' I say. Sean says, 'Likewise,' and then Tyler says, to Amy, when we all separate, 'Amy, any word on Iffy from Wade?'

She whips out the message again to show them. Tyler gasps, and Sean says firmly. 'Let's hurry, we have to hope the kidnapper hasn't gotten that far.'

As we rush over to Tyler and Amy's cars, I start biting my nails anxiously.

_Oh, I hope she's not hurt!_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Iffy's POV****

'Let me out!'

I'm rattling my entitled silvery metal cup against the bars of my cell as I yell this.

Yes, a jail cell.

I've been detained for breaking limbs.

_Forever._

And it's Evie's fault! Obviously.

Trouble is everywhere whenever Evie's dominating over me, whether in my thoughts or in the real world, and consequently my suffering is never far behind. Today is no exception.

She was so insistent of wanting to rid me of my shyness or whatever, even though I told her specifically that she couldn't. Determined to prove the point, she took me over (didn't know she could do that on non designated days!!), wandering about trying to talk to people, with confidence. It went fine - for the first few people.

But then the teasing came. And they ridiculed me to no end. It bothered me, of course, but I'd never let it get to me. Ignorance is bliss, know what I'm saying?

Evie's a whole different story.

She hates ridicule, and tends to get violent whenever it happens. Within a 2 hour limit (somehow I stopped her), she broke 5 arms, 3 legs, and a wrist. I'm glad she broke no necks or backs, or I'd be in for manslaughter.

And so I sit, in a cell in the asylum, for trying to plead my case, throwing the cup against the wall until a large dent happened upon it. I laugh like crazy, eyes twitching. Then I bury my head in my knees and scream whilst crying.

Maybe I'm crazy after all.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Cry's POV****

 _'What?!'_ Robin spats, incredulously, and my eyes widen behind my mask.

Wade shows us the latest headline from the news on his phone, eyes wide: **_Insane Girl Run Amok! 9 Injured, Many More to Come_**

I have to examine the picture 4 times to see if my eyes are playing tricks on me. Unfortunately, they aren't, and it's indeed Iffy in the picture with a mad look in her eyes (are they glowing??). But why she would do such a thing, we have no idea.

'I didn't believe it either,' Wade says with a disbelieving look. 'Over and over I try to find an explanation for this and I can't...'

_Demon. It has to be. Iffy's not ever that crazy - Wade will see it now, but Robin might never be able to see it that way.._

I'm jerked out of my thoughts when Wade says, 'Sean and Mark are okay. They're on their way with Amy and Tyler to come help us find Iffy.'

'But didn't Mark say he thought she was kidnapped?' I say. 'That headline doesn't sound like she may have been stolen. She might have been arrested.'

'Or sent to a crazy hut!' Robin exclaims, pulling at his hair in worry.

'Standing around here pondering isn't going to solve anything,' says Wade. 'Let's go look for her at the police station. We might be able to plead her case.'

'How??' Robin shrieks. 'They're not going to let her go that easy!'

I wave my hand, in slight dismissal. 'Leave it to me.'

As we exit the house and head to the car there are loud screeching sounds. We all look up to see two cars barreling down the road, slamming on their brakes without crashing into anything somehow. The doors open, and 4 people all jump out at once.

'Sean, Tyler, Amy, Mark!' Robin exclaims, listing their names as they appear. 'You're here!'

'No time for formalities, I'm afraid! We've got to go!' Wade says. He runs up to them and shows them the headline. 'Iffy might have gotten arrested! Or taken to the crazy hut, like Robin said.'

'Iffy did that?!' says Amy, pointing at Wade's phone as if she could will it to disappear (the phone and the story), and Mark adds, 'No way. Something must have been making her do that. We know her by now; you think she is capable of stuff like this?'

'What could have possibly have made her so angry to do that?!' Robin screams. Geez, he is REALLY on edge today.

I put my hands on his shoulders and shake him. 'Calm down, Robin! We've got this, trust us.'

'I hope,' Wade says, biting his lip, realizing the gravity of the situation. He knows about demons, more specifically ours, but Robin still doesn't as he won't believe in such things.

Suddenly, we hear a thump. When I turn to look, Mark is on his knees, holding his head as if it were splitting apart, looking down, groaning in pain. Amy and Sean are both beside him, with Amy on one side, trying to massage his temples in an attempt to alleviate the pain, and Sean on the other, trying to talk him back into reality, while everyone else looks on anxiously.

'Mark!' I cry out. 'Are you okay?! What's wrong??'

He shoots his head up abruptly, causing Amy's hands to fall away from his head, much to her and Sean's surprise. His eyes are glowing a fiery red. Robin is absolutely terrified, being unfamiliar with this, while the rest of us are merely mildly alarmed. Then, in a deep voice that can only be Darkiplier, he speaks the following words from Mark:

' **Heed my words. Iffy is safe - for now. But she has been locked away in a cell, in an asylum many miles away. You must save her before they ship her off to another one in another country, for the criminally insane. We, as your demons, will assist you however we can. Good luck.** '

And with that, Mark slumps forward onto the ground. Moments later, his eyes have returned to normal brown as he pushes himself back up to a sitting position.

'That was painful,' he says, simply, voice restored, rubbing his temples similarly to what Amy had done. 'But I guess Dark found Iffy.'

Sean holds up his phone. 'So did Anti, apparently. Look - this seems to be tracking where she and Evie are right now.'

Amy glances over his shoulder. 'Let's hurry. We might not have much time, according to Dark.'

And when we finally take off, we have to spend so much time explaining what just happened to poor Robin the whole way over.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****Iffy's POV****

There's no stopping them.

I've just heard that they will ship me out to a criminally insane asylum within a few hours! I won't survive in there. Not even with Evie, who is the reason this is even happening!

She's not particularly pleased, as she has been stored in my special watch, given to me by her creator, Pestilence. (A/N: Worry not - I will be writing an origin story later about how Evie came to be, in an alternate sort of universe) Evie's powers are severely restricted as long as she's inside it. 

I press a button on the watch, and she appears in a hologram form. By the looks of her annoyed face, her black and blue-tipped hair tied in ponytails and the skull and cross pajama set she's wearing, I can assume that I have just awakened her from slumber. Which makes me feel a bit better.

' **Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Iffy,** ' she snaps at me. ' **Meanwhile, you're the one who's getting shipped out within a few hours, so I wouldn't keep that up if I were you.** '

'And whose fault is that?!' I yell, out loud, to her. I don't feel like trying to communicate telepathically with her, and I don't particularly care who overhears me, either. 'You shouldn't have broken anyone's limbs over some insipid teasing that not only didn't matter, but wasn't specifically targeting you! And now I have to live with this! Do you ever stop to think that your actions may have consequences that not only affect me, but others?! Because they sure as hell don't affect you!'

Evie's glowing blue-green and red eyes widen. I guess she's surprised that I managed to stand up for myself, as I can see a tiny smile behind her shocked expression. 

'And don't launch into this whole "I-told-you-so" mentality right now either,' I scold her, before she can even attempt to say any more words on the matter. She rolls her eyes before disappearing from sight.

I start tossing a ball that Evie conjured up for me earlier, against the wall.  _What was I even to do? In less than 20 minutes I'm going to get shipped all the way to Australia, where their asylum are practically worse than DYING. If I'm begging to have my throat slit over going there then I know I won't last a second._

My thoughts are interrupted by the light pattering of rocks coming steadily from my glass window, followed by the clanking of some hitting the ground of my room coming through the barred window. Who would be throwing stones in my window at this time of day? No one even knows I'm in here. Despite the headline the news printed out about me (I was PISSED when I found out about it, tearing the newspaper in half when delivered to me, restraining myself from breaking the phone of the person in question who showed it to me), there's no way anyone can pinpoint a location on me unless they were Sherlock Holmes.

Crossing over to the windows with my hand over my face to avoid being lightly stoned, I phop onto the stone-cold bench and peer out the window - and scream as Sean suddenly appears in my field of view. Startled, I fall back and off the bench.

'Ow....' I groan out, as I sit up and attempt to rub my back and head. I smile slightly when I start feeling a nice massage like sensation on my back. Even if she's a pain, she can be nice at times. I have to remember to at least thank Evie for this later. 

Sean appears at the bars, holding onto them, eyes flashing green and blue like his septiceye Sam. ' **Sorry, dude! But we had to make sure you were in here! You have no idea how many of these cell thingies me and Jack checked before this, so frustrating~** '

I raise an eyebrow at that slightly high voice. 'Anti? How did you even know I was here?' I ask, not wanting to ask how he's taken over Sean at the moment, or why he calls him Jack instead of Sean like everyone else (except for Icy and Mad).

' **Duh! Demon tracking power!** ' he says, with an extravagant wave and a slight eye roll. He phases himself through the wall into the room, sitting on the bench, before continuing. ' **Dark tracked you down and I plugged in the coordinates into Jack's phone, we all rush over, and bada-bing, we're all here!** '

'Wait, "all"? Who else is here?'

He holds out a hand to me. ' **Come on, you'll see! And hurry, we don't want them getting caught for what they're doing~** '

I grab his hand, and he starts at a dead run as we phase through the wall and float down towards the ground. I look around, seeing knocked out guards littering the lot. At least, I hope they are knocked out.

'They're not dead, don't worry, Iffy,' and I realize that it's Sean says this, when I turn to see that his voice is normal and eyes have returned to blue. 'Dark and Icy made them sleep for a bit. However, that's only for the ones that were here already; we're not going to be home-free if anyone comes on the lot now.'

Once again, Sean has jinxed us. As soon as we turn a corner outside the building we run right into 3 guards who have just come on site for inspection.

'What are you doing out of your cell?!' one of them, tag reading Pepper, says as she points at me, her face turning red. 'Aren't you supposed to gettin' deported today or whatever?'

'Ain't it obvious?!' says another, called Kent, pointing at Sean now, eyebrows knitted together. 'This one probably came and broke 'er out!'

'Well, then we take them both!' the third, named Riley, declares shaking their (can't tell the gender, don't want to assume) fist in the air.

Next thing we know we're on a dead run around the perimeter, staying out of the eyes of the guards, who seemed to have lost us. As we run inside to hide for now, we then run into Cry, who stares in confusion, and Robin, who seems frazzled about something.

'Sean! Iffy! What are you doing in here?!' whisper-shouts Cry. 

Sean gestures outside. 'Some guards staggered in here on duty and we had to hide from them!' He then looks toward the ceiling, and adds, 'Good thing none of us got stuck outside, though.'

I glance toward the ceiling and see what Sean is talking about. Mark and Amy are silently hiding along the roof of the building. As I move a bit further inward I catch Tyler and Wade inside a cell, leaning on the bars.

'Did they get you two too?' I ask.

Wade shakes his head. 'Nah, Tyler phased us in so we didn't look suspicious to the guards that were chasing us earlier.' He takes Tyler's hand as they both phase out to the other side of the bars. They let go as Mark and Amy descend from the ceiling and join the rest of us.

'The coast is kinda clear. They're on the other side of the building,' says Sean. 'Let's go before they come in here and catch us.

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Well. I'm glad that adventure is over. Never again can I let Evie get the better of me. I've decided to leave her in the watch for now. You know, as punishment. You'd better believe she's pissed.

****_double trouble_  
another player in the game  
where he goes  
nobody  
knows 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And YOU get a demon, and YOU get a demon! EVERYONE gets a demon!
> 
> Or at least, most of them, anyway XD
> 
> Also, in terms of power of the demons (meaning whose are the most powerful and whatnot):
> 
> Evie is the strongest, followed by Schism and Icy, then Infelix, then Dark, then Anti and Mad, and finally Paran at the weakest. Nothing against Signe, just that she is the most controlled so her demon doesn't get chances to exercise her powers.
> 
> ALSO also.... cryptic end message is cryptic!


	15. Hallucination Station is Up and Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy thinks there's something - or someone - else inside of her running around her friends' minds to hers, forcing her to either relive moments that she was never present for or face very creepy, scary hallucinations... involving the others. When she finds out it's not Evie getting back at her, it freaks her (and the others) out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask about the title cause can't I help ya there XD
> 
> Also, the demon that is doing this isn't any of the main characters' that don't have one; just a crazy one that loves mischief.
> 
> Originally called "The Stages of Mark's Hair (and Other Things Evie's Not Making Me Think Of)" in the physical copy.

'Why do I know this?!'

Just moments ago I was laying face up in bed trying to contemplate the meaning of life or something. I've not left my room since I showered by 9 in the morning, fallen asleep, only, later, having awakened again by 2:30 in the afternoon. It's 4:15 now. But now my thoughts are interrupted by a memory. It's not my own. My eyes abruptly close; no matter what I try I can't open them again.

_As I struggle to try to open my eyes, a figure comes into focus, with pink hair against his black hair. I know it's Mark, but why I'm seeing this I have no idea._

_Three more versions of him appear beside the first; one with red in the hair (aka Mark of the Present), one with blue, and then one with no dye at all, which can be interpreted as how we used to see him before he dyed it._

_Their eyes are gone. Spiraling depths of darkness replaces the brown eyes of all the Marks. Their mouths hang open, unmoving. They're slouched over, like zombies, arms raising slowly, as if they are preparing to advance..._

_And then they do, as they leap right for me! Hands tearing my hair, my clothes, flesh rotting off..._

I wake up then, in a cold sweat, screaming as I say this, glancing about. Knocks can be heard at my door then. 'Come in,' I say, hesitantly, sitting up with a hand over my face.

The door opens a crack, and Felix sticks his head in. 'Are you okay?' he asks worriedly. 'I could hear you screaming while I was recording a let's play.'

I sigh, lowering my hand. Ever since the whole demonic ordeal a few days ago (which Felix and Marzia were still completely unaware of) I've been more on edge. So have Sean and Mark, considering they were facing their own fears, albeit less so than me.

'Earth to Iffy!' Felix calls from the door, and my heads whips up (when did it go down??) to face him. 'Did you space out??'

 _Oh, please, Felix, like I'm incapable of spacing out?_ 'I'm _fine_ , Felix,' I say with a little edge. 'Just go back to your recording. Wouldn't want that to upload late, would you?'

He looks hurt for a split second. 'No need to be testy...' He bites his lip before finally sighing and shutting the door quietly. I cover my face with my hands, immediately feeling guilty for what I've said.

I don't hear when Mark comes into the room, bringing a tiny tray with a sandwich and orange juice (not that he can't cook, he just knows that I don't typically eat the normal breakfast foods until it's dark out) along with him. So when I raise my head up and see him there, in all his eye socketing and rotting fleshy glory from my vision, I jump back - as much as one can on a bed, anyway - backing up against the headboard with a look of horror. 

'No, please! Get away from me!' I choke out.

I want to just get up and run, fly out the window away from what I see without looking back, but I've had too much falling to last me a lifetime, so I close my eyes and stay in place, trying to will him away, hoping he won't advance on me if I don't succeed.

_The area goes dark. It's pitch black, can't see a thing. Next thing I know I'm being shaken. No. It's just the sensation of being shaken. I can't swat them away; my hands have been restricted for some reason. I glance at my hands. Handcuffs. I try pulling my hands apart in attempt to break them._

_'Let me out!' I demand at once, to no one, nothing. No one's there. I'm alone, and yet the sensation of being shaken has yet to disappear...\_

'Iffy!!' The voice breaks into the darkness and parts it away. I finally open my eyes, glancing down at my shoulders, where two non-rotting hands are placed. My eyes make their way up until I'm staring into Mark's distorted, yet normal worried features.

'What's wrong?! You're shaking! Granted, some of that might have been me, but that's only because you were paling as if you saw a ghost!' He holds his hands firmly on my shoulders no longer shaking them.

'They were zombies,' I mutter to myself, unable to resist the urge to correct myself despite the glaring fact that he didn't see what I saw. Alas, my efforts are in vain, as Mark overhears me and widens his eyes. 

He shakes his head sadly. 'Why are you seeing zombies? Are you sick or something? And why aren't you telling anyone about this?'

'I'm not sick, Mark. Not literally, anyway. It's.... just not that simple,' I say with a sad smile. Never have I ever been able to keep anything from Mark, so there's no point in starting now. I take his hands off my shoulders and hold them in my own. 'The zombies looked an awful lot like you, Mark, all with different hair colors, as if I were just trying to remember how many hair dye colors you tried - the thoughts were planted into my head somehow.' Then I shrug. 'And it's not been going on for long.... it only started today.'

Mark looks puzzled now. He scratches his head with one of the hands he gets free. 'Me? Why me?'

'I don't know... the only thing I DO know is someone's planting all these weird thoughts and creepy hallucinations inside...' My voice trails off as I suddenly feel a burning sensation in my eyes. I thought it was crying, but I was about to beg for that over what's really going on... I start grasping at them, in absolute agonizing pain. The last thing I can see before I black out back to hallucination land is Mark's expression. Screaming. But I can't even hear it. 

_I'm not sure what I'm expecting this time, what I'm going to see. MORE Mark zombies? God I hoped not._

_What I see isn't making me feel any better, however._

_A lone figure stands in the distance. Green hair, eyes flashing. I want to say that it's Sean, but it has to be Anti, as he takes the knife and drags the blade across his neck. A long trickle of blood accompanies this action, such as it had when he had done it for a Halloween video.... but something seems different about this particular instance... He's screaming. I don't get why; Anti's slit his throat many a times, and he always heals back from it. Which now makes me wonder if it's even Anti slitting the throat right now. It doesn't sound like him._

_His eyes shoot open. I didn't even realize they were closed. And that's when I realize it: the eyes are NOT GLOWING! Why would Sean slit his own throat?! Or did Anti make him do that? Despite his insane nature he would never go this far. I can't help but stretch my invisible arms out anyway, screaming, 'NOOOOO!!!' as Sean collapses to the floor, eyes rolling into his skull..._

' _Wake up!!_ '

My eyes shoot open again, and I find myself on my bedroom floor, with Mark - and now Sean - towering over me. The vision is blurry, and I raise a hand to my face, finding it wet with tears.

'What's going on??' Sean asks frantically, to Mark. 'Why does she keep blacking out?!'

Mark sighs. 'I don't know, but she sees some pretty weird stuff when she blacks out... none of the demons can even get to the bottom of it.' Then he looks at me, and my vision clears. 'Iffy? What did you see this time?'

I sit up, causing Mark and Sean to move back. I hug my knees to myself and force myself to speak. 'It was Anti slitting his throat.... which normally I wouldn't think anything of. But... after it happened... it was Sean that collapsed dead to the floor. It's as if Anti killed himself and Sean, at the same time, without knowing it...' My voice trails off, voice quavering as I burst into spontaneous tears. I rock back and forth, unable to quit, not that doing so would help me any.

Two hands come down on my shoulders, one from Sean and the other from Mark. They're trying to talk me back into reality, rubbing my back as they go. After a bit of time, it works, as I have calmed down considerably and release my knees from my arm prison. I rise shakily to my feet, arms out to my sides in case I fall. Sean and Mark stand up as well, on either side of me, following me out of my room.

As they play Super Smash Bros, when we head downstairs, I find myself absentmindedly glazing my eyes over, not really paying attention to my surroundings. _Why is this happening to me and no one else? Did I do something?_ Then it hits me.

Evie. She's probably trying to get back at me.

Without hesitation, I raise my watch and press the "view" button.

Moments later Evie appears, filing her nails without looking up, hair down wearing her casual attire - fishnet stockings, tall buckle boots, white monogrammed t-shirt under her black biker jacket (don't ask me why she has a motorcycle license in the Underworld!), and her jeans skirt. Today, however, she was also wearing heavy black eye makeup. If you didn't know any better you would have called her a goth and ended up with something broken. (At least, you would in the Underworld; as Evie does not typically interact with humans here when she is in control.)

' **What do you want, Iffy?** ' she asks, pausing her nail care to look up at me.

'Don't play dumb with me. Why are you messing with my head?' I snap, as calmly as possible, pointing to my head as I say this. 'Already twice today I get crazy visions about these two - ' here I pause to jerk my thumb towards Mark and Sean, who are sitting opposite me, focused on their match, as I raise an eyebrow at her ' - and you're acting like you had nothing to do with this?'

' **Do with what??** ' asks Evie in an incredulous, exasperated tone. Then her face abruptly changes into a look of realization, as if she has figured something out. ' **Hate to tell you this, but I know what you're thinking, and it's not me.** ' 

Seeing as I'm sitting and therefore can't put it on my hip, I put my non-watch hand in my lap in annoyance instead. 'How can it NOT be you? None of the other demons would do this to me, nor do they have a reason to.'

Evie's eyes narrow. ' **And I do? You have to give this poor watch some credit, dear. Can't mess with your mind while I'm prisoner.** ' Then she smirks at me, ' **Besides, who said that was a demon that you knew of?~** ' Then she proceeds to file her nails again casually, as if what she had said was a completely normal sentence (which it WASN'T, not even by an insane demon's standards), earning a wide-eyed, confused look from me in turn.

'You never said it was a demon that I DIDN'T know, either!' I hiss through gritted teeth, while still managing to mock her slightly. A realization suddenly hits me, and I gasp in shock, hand flying to my mouth as I say, 'What did you do?!'

' **Calm down, I just brought a friend of mine to come and play~** ' she says nonchalantly, tilting her head ever so innocently, which she's way too far from being. ' **I may not be able to mess with your mind, but you do know I can still technically travel to the Underworld through it while I'm in here, right? Not physically complete, of course; my body will appear transparent, but it just makes bringing friends over through the mind much easier~** '

'You brought another demon in here?!' Sean suddenly says. Their match has long ended, and now he and Mark are tuning into the conversation. 'Are you insane?! The hell did you do that for?!'

'And where is it now?' Mark says, calmer than Sean, but still pissed nevertheless. 'It doesn't seem to be in Iffy's head, given she's not passed out for a while now, and our demons would have chased it out of ours by now. Where else can it possibly go?'

' **Let's get something straight, _Marcus_ ,**' she hisses, earning an annoyed look from Mark in turn. It's not his name, not at all, and as far as I know, I'm the only one who has ever called him that, and that was only once, when I had been super angry over something completely stupid. Mark wasn't even all that mad then, but for some reason hearing Evie say it made him furious, which is why he's trying to control himself now as Evie keeps talking. ' **He's not going to appreciate you calling him an it, because he is a MALE - like you and Sean here, not a THING. And he's also not stupid enough to go trying to find a temporary host with a permanent resident - meaning he will not touch base in a mind where a demon already lives. He's chosen to nest himself in one of your little friends - you know, the ones who don't already deal with the burdens of demons everyday.** '

I count them off on my fingers: Wade, Bob, Robin, Marzia, the Grumps. With that vagueness, that can mean almost anyone I just listed.

' **I'll give you three hints~** ' she says cockily. ' **First off, the host is someone that Iffy tends to hang out with a lot.** '

Mark and Sean raise eyebrows to this hint, but I obviously know what it means. Well, that knocks out the Grumps right then and there. I've already told you why I hardly mention them, even if I still say hi to them every now and again when I pass them in the house (they've come back from yet another important thing that the trio cannot say).

' **Next,** ' Evie says, ' **he can only occupy people of the same gender as him.** '

'That means Marzia's out,' comes Felix's voice from the stairway. He appears moments later, walking over behind the couch and resting his crossed arms on it. 

Mark turns back to look at him. 'When did _you_ tune in on this conversation?'

'Just a few minutes ago. Infe tuned me in. If there's one thing that he and Evie have in common, it's being unable to resist poking into others' business.' Evie shoots a glare this way, only returned with a mere roll of the eyes from the Swede as he counts off on his fingers. 'Okay so the Game Grumps are out, ('You know Iffy too well,' said Mark and Sean at the exact same time, trying to restrain from a jinx battle at such an inappropriate time) and so is Marzia. Who is left?'

'Wade, Robin, and Bob.' The Irishman taps his chin in thought. 'How on earth is this last clue going to help us?'

' **You'll see~** says the cryptic little thorn in all of our sides. ' **Here's the last hint: he won't take over anyone too serious or too stressed; he doesn't want to become some stick-in-the mud or panic attack on wheels.** '

'Bob's only emotion is literally on a serious high,' Sean says, with a dismissing wave of his hand. 'It's not him.'

'And we know how Robin gets panicked about certain things,' adds Felix, arms crossed with a thoughtful expression. 'Or every little thing, come to think of it. So it can't be him either...'

All of us get the exact same horrified expression painted across our faces. 

' _Wade!_ ' Mark and I scream at the exact same time.

Evie snickers. ' **Bingo~** ' She then appears as a transparent life-size being (as opposed to the doll size she appears on in my watch), looking at all of us, eyes piercing into each one of us as she continues again. ' **Now if I were you, I wouldn't try to chase him out of poor Wade just now. He's much stronger than any of your demons will ever be. Besides, he's only here for a little while~** ' she coos which makes the rest of us internally sick.

Evie starts to say something else, but stops when her eyes land on me. I'm on the ground, clutching at my head for the third time today. A tiny glance up and I see Felix nearly mirroring my actions, groaning in pain while I scream. Mark and Sean look terrified yet again, and Evie sports a look of slight guilt upon her face. As Sean rushes toward Felix, and Mark toward me, while Evie worriedly looks on, my eyes slam forcefully shut, once again. And this time, I don't do a thing to try and stop it.

_My vision is once again black. A quick turn to my left shows me that I'm not alone in this, however. Not this time._

_'Felix?' I say in shock. 'What are you doing here?'  
_

_He shrugs. 'Same as you, I suppose?' he says with a cadence of surprise. 'But where IS here?'_

_'Here, unfortunately, is the twisted dark world of altered memories and creepy hallucinations...' I cut myself off as I widen my eyes at the sight before us. Felix joins me as we stare straight ahead._

_Wade is standing here, head down, long sharp knife in hand. My first instinct is to go up and gently take the knife from him. As I slowly go up to him, I notice his feet - they have wheels literally sewn into the soles of them. I can't help but wonder what pain goes through him when he's forced to use them. Felix holds me back, however, and points again at Wade. He looks up at us, and his pupils are gone. Only the whites of his eyes show. And when he opens his mouth to speak there are fangs where his incisors should be._

_'That's not Wade...' I say then, mumbling. Felix nods, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me away from him._

_' **Aren't ya a smart little girly?** ' The cold, raspy voice that escapes is not Wade's. His skin pales considerably as a tattoo appears over his face. We're not sure what the sign is. (We're still not sure to this day.)_

_' **Your friend Wade is gone now,** ' he says coldly, advancing slightly towards us. ' **But who needed him anyway? He's just the middleman, the forgotten one...** '_

_I start to charge at him trying to strangle him, taking a flying leap at him; as Felix holds me back, tears brimming, I start screaming. 'You have NO idea! He was our friend! You have no right to take him away from us!'_

_He's now right in front of us as Felix sets me down. I take it upon myself to calm myself down, clenching my fists. ' **Oh, it was so easy~ His so-called demon left him, long ago, never came back since,** ' he says with a lilt in his voice that makes me and Felix visibly sick, not catching the last thing he says for a second. ' **And soon,** ' he says, after he flies right over our sickly pile, ' **your "lucky" little friends will join him in the realm of the forgotten.** ' He raises the knife with a Yandere-like expression, our horrified expressions reflected into it. ' **Oh, where are my manners? My name is Raider.** '_

_Slash!!_

'NOOOOOOOOO!!!!'

Felix and I jolt up at the same time, clinging to each other and screaming this. Mark, Sean and even Evie have to take a long while to calm us both down. 

'That must have been REALLY bad if this one got both of you!' yells Sean.

'What did he mean that Wade's demon disappeared?' Mark adds, with a confused look adorned on his face. 'I thought he never had one.'

My head whips up. I remember Raider throwing that in before he'd stabbed the hallucination us's. 'Wait, how did you know he said that?!' 

' **Dark listened in, somehow,** ' Evie says with a sheepish look. ' **We all did - Anti, Dark, me.** ' 

Felix narrows his eyes. 'You _caused_ this!' he hisses. 'You'd better tell that friend of yours to back off on these creepy hallucinations or all hell will break loose, I'll promise you that!'

We have to all hold Felix back to atop him from attacking Evie, who he has managed to jab in the chest despite her transparent nature. She's crying now. Hard. Felix stops his rant for a moment, joining the rest of us in stunned silence as we watch Evie cry.

' **...shouldn't have let him manipulate me like that... why'd I give him something to use against me...** ' she chokes between sobs. ' **Okay...** ' she says to Felix, when she has calmed down substantially. ' **I-I'll try to ... get 'im off you... don't know-know what good it'll do, but... still I'll try...** '

Felix's expression turns grim. 'Whatever. I guess it's good that you're trying, at least.'

With that, Evie disappears.

 

She doesn't come back for a while...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: come next book, some of these hallucinations will become important. Stay tuned!
> 
> Also, in the third book, you will learn what Raider has over Evie, and more on the backstory of Shade and what befell him.
> 
> Think Evie's gone for good or might return? You decide!


	16. Give Me A Signe!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They haven't met before now, but when they do, it's not in the best of circumstances. It starts off nice enough... then Iffy's substitute inner demon meets Signe's again in the human world and things get real ugly real fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there's is a mini substitute for Evie. Her name is Geneva, and you will have to read the third story to see how she came about and why she even still exists now; it's not particularly important to know here.
> 
> Speaking of Evie, she won't come back until Chapter 18.

'Is Signe around anywhere? I never see her.'

Okay, you could have phrased that better, If.

Granted, I never see Molly or Mandy either, but I've at least talked to them over a phone while their respective significant others were in the room (meaning Bob and Wade). Mary might as well be a figment of the imagination to me, along with Ken, neither of which I ever see or hear from through my whole experience here, merely mentions through the people of YouTube House. Which is totally fine by the way.

But I can't stand Signe being simply a mention since Sean's the one I interact with the 3rd most around here (behind Wade and Mark), and he does often talk about her. I've seen Amy and Marzia more times than I can count on both hands, so it's only fair I get to see her, too, right?

'Of course she's around,' Sean says when I say this. We're out at the park right now, watching Chica while Mark's gone to go see some other friends of his for a week. She's dozing off in my lap now, lazily wagging her tail as I pet her fur. 'She's just usually away doing something for the girls because they keep asking her and that's the kind of girl she is.'

'Think I'll get to meet her someday?' I ask him. He shoots me a sideways glance with a nod of his head since he is too lazy to turn.

We continue to lean back against Horenvendish Tree (don't ask why it's called that, someone's a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I suppose) until the sun starts to set. Sean wakes Chica and leads her home, with me following behind. We're still only 3/4 away from home when I suddenly hear and feel a mildly annoying buzzing sensation in my ear, which disappears quickly. One glance at Sean tells me he's heard it too, as he looks around a bit aimlessly.

'What demon is possibly out and about at this time of day?' he asks, squinting out into the distance. I raise an eyebrow. It's true that when demons are out and about (meaning in their hosts or bodies of their own) they emit a noise, starting with buzzing for weak demons, getting screechier as the demon's power increases. But why could I hear it? Evie's still MIA from my brain; it's nice to be alone with my thoughts every once in a while. Still, it worries me that I've not heard from her for 2 weeks. Having said this, only demons can hear the sounds of other demons being out and about, which transmits to their human...

'Signe??' Sean's voice brings me out of deep thought. I look over to where Sean is looking, seeing a figure stumble around aimlessly some feet from us. Sure, enough, it's her, walking towards us, eyes flashing pink and purple. _Her demon Paran must be out tonight,_ I figure.

As soon as she takes sight of us, her flashing eyes fade and she comes running up. 'Sean, hey! What are you doing out here so late?' she says as if she wasn't possessed earlier. 

'I could ask you the same,' he says, gesturing to her. Then he turns to me. 'Oh, this is Iffy! You guys haven't been properly introduced yet.'

She shakes my hand. 'Nice to meet you, finally! Wade and Sean always talk about you to us girls when they call the house. We've got to get you to come with us someday, for a girls' night out!'

'I'd like that,' I say, as we continue walking.

We're now only a quarter away, when I notice that Signe's staring at me funny. She's in the middle of us, with me on her right and Sean on her left. Her eyes are flashing again, which means Paran is active again (and somehow Sean didn't see this?!). But the fact that she is staring at me with such intensity is making me feel weird inside, and the wicked smile she sends my way isn't helping. 

_Pang!_

' _Ow!_ ' I exclaim, unknowingly out loud, before turning away from them holding my head for the first time since Evie disappeared (and Raider went MIA).

Sean notices this, crossing in front of Signe to move closer to me, staring me in the face. 'Are you okay, Iffy??'

I shake my head to the best of my ability while somehow screaming 'No!' at the same time. Signe starts laughing evilly; she's losing it! Sean's now only seeing this, turning from me to her trying to push her away.

' _ **No. Leave it be.**_ ' 

_Wait... that came out of MY mouth! But that deep voice isn't mine..._

We stop walking.

Signe whips her head around to face me. ' **How DARE you call me an "it", you sorry excuse for a substitute?!** ' she screeches, in a tiny little annoying kid's voice. Definitely not her.

There's a jolt from my body, causing me to to fall onto my back, as I feel something try to leave it. I open my eyes (why don't I ever realize when I'm shutting them?!) to see a long electric stream of blue leaving through my stomach. I don't dare touch it as I'm worried about it hurting me. When it rests in front of me, the lights fade away to reveal a figure. Their back is facing me, so all I see of them is long brown-black hair cascading down their back with blue at the roots, along with a simple white T-shirt with tiny black wings poking through and a short jean skirt. If I didn't know any better I would say that she was a combination of me and Evie.

As I peer around her, I catch sight of another figure, with long pink hair falling at her elbows. Her light red Marilyn Monroe style dress is flowing around her, along with her hair, as if she had a personal whirlwind around her. Her eyes are purple in one eye and pink in another. This must be Paran. But who knew she was strong enough to get out of Signe by herself?!

Speaking of her, she's laying back on the ground with her arms out wide and her legs in another weird position. Her eyes are closed and she's not moving except for her chest moving slightly. Beside her is Sean, who is sitting upright, staring at the two demons squaring off as I was.

' **And yet, this "substitute" has so much more power than you ever will. How sad~** ' says the unknown demon, eyes trained on Paran, until she realizes that there are other people about. With one snap of her fingers, Sean, Signe and I are suddenly in a little heap beside them. They both turn to face us, and while Paran has a guilty innocent look across her face, the other's is more smug.

' **Shame on you, Geneva, for scaring my human and her friends like that,** ' says Paran. ' **Just because you hate me doesn't mean they should have to suffer too!** '

Geneva, as I now know she's called, puts her hands on her hips, setting her eyes on everyone until they finally land on me. ' **Well, well, Iffy, bet you didn't expect to see me again, huh? I bet Pestilence wiped your memory of me. Oh, well. I don't blame her, I caused so many problems for you in the Underworld~** '

My eyebrows raise at this. 'Why would I have known you? I've been to the Underworld only once, and Pestilence didn't exactly make it easy for me...' I rack my brain trying to remember something, 'All I remember is some experiment she was trying to do, something about bringing her daughter back...'

She leans into my face. ' **Guess who's baaaack?~** '

My eyes widen, and I'm unable to say anything. I rise shakily to me feet, followed by Sean who has still remained deathly silent through this. As he reaches down to help Signe who's finally stirring again, Paran starts moving slowly away from Geneva.

' **I'm not starting anything with you tonight,** ' she says with her fists balled up. ' **At least, not here. I'm not risking anyone's safety just for some petty squabble.** ' She keeps walking until she stops in front of Signe. ' **I'm sorry if you got hurt on my behalf. That was never my intention.** '

If there's one thing you have to love about Paran, it's that she will only become cruel if anyone hurts people she or Signe cares about. She's never as snippy as any of the other demons, though Evie is usually the only one that makes it a big problem amongst them.

Signe gives her a sleepy nod, and then Paran turns back to face Geneva one more time. ' **You want to have at me? Fine. Just have some common decency and do it in the Underworld.'** And with that, Paran phases right into Signe, who is almost knocked off her feet had Sean and I not been there to keep her upright.

Geneva glares at us before finally lowering her gaze. 'You'd better control yourself or I'll send you into that watch after Evie,' I snap, which she visibly tenses up at. I smirk to myself, as one of the memories I recover reminded me that Geneva was terrified of Evie when she first saw her. Then I narrow my eyes at her, raising my watch. 'Get back inside or I'll do it right now.'

Her eyes widen in fear, then she runs at top speed until phasing through me. She moves so fast that I actually fall over and hit my head on solid concrete before Sean or Signe can even react. As they help me up and lead me the rest of the way back to YouTube House, I can't help wondering....

_How long is Geneva going to stay in my head? Will Evie ever return?_


	17. Music Videos (of the Iffy Kind)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's music videos that make sense, and there's ones that don't yet still do. Iffy's don't (exactly) fall in either one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU CAN SKIP THIS CHAPTER!!! There's not much that follows the story here.

Yeah, I have my own category, deal with it!

As I groove along to My Ordinary Life by The Living Tombstone, I start to think back on things that people have said to me about my music videos (whether the song is mine or not), besides them being good or being bad, of course. Often times people have asked why I do my videos the way I do, and I have no good answer for that.

Even if people think they're crap, I won't judge. But that's not what I mean. Most of the people that ask about why I do them this way are the ones that don't get the concept. They expect one thing from the concept, but then I turn around and do another thing from it.

Which brings us back to what they ask: why is that?

Like I said, there's no good answer.

Today I'm looking at one of my music videos (called "Insanely Mental (and Mentally Insane)" - don't ask) when Mark enters and perches his arms behind my chair as he kneels on the floor.

'Wait, what? I don't get it,' he says, as usual (usually once every other week). Then he cocks his head to the side with a confused expression. I snicker as I turn in my chair to face him as his arms drop to his sides.

'Precisely,' I say, with a shrug. 'And tell Sean that I'll just say the same thing if he comes, yeah?'

Even when Mark tells him he still comes in hours after and ponders.

And so I fall into the rhythm of watching them again and being proud. Even when Mark - and eventually Sean when he comes - have long given up trying to guess... for today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short, and not that interesting, they get better, I swear (or I hope)


	18. Nigeria's Not All Jungle, Take That!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy visits Nigeria for an "Around the World" segment idea, and loses track of Wade (who came with) again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: In my paper copy this would have been called "Dublin in the Irish Town" but I decided to switch it up.

Wow, this place is the same as I remember it.

Three days ago, I came up with an idea for an "Around the World" segment. You know, go visit at least one country in the continents, see what it's like. So that's why, today, I'm trekking along the dirt road in Enugu, Nigeria, taking care not to fall into the gutter (which I've almost done already) and shouting out to Wade to hurry up, who wanted to come and is currently dragging along because he decided to wear pants despite it being now late December and me warning him against it, as it's never cold here around this time. Seriously. Not even at night.

The airport hassle was too much for poor Wade to bear. I told everyone that they wouldn't want to come take the 3 flights it took to get here simply for that hassle alone, and everyone else took my advice. Except Wade, of course. He called everyone else chicken and told them that he'd brave the Nigerian jungle in no time. Of course that earned him a whack to the head from me, what with him assuming Nigeria was all jungle and forest.

Well, it's not, Wade, so take that!

At least he wasn't wearing long sleeves under his jackets (yes, plural, it was that bad), which we had taken off on the second flight. Yes, it was freezing cold back in the States (we regretted EVERY second spend standing outside) but as we passed over the ocean it started getting abnormally warm, and I told him that if we didn't get them off soon we were going to melt, which probably wouldn't have gone over well with everyone else.

It feels the same as the last time I was here: hot, dusty, very hectic... what with everyone honking at each other (warned them about this too), as usual. Seriously, you can't get ANY quiet here, not even when you're trying to sleep. My sister and I had to sleep to the sounds of car horns RIGHT OUTSIDE the house. Mainly because you can literally turn in to my uncle's house from the dirt road - it's only closed off by the iron fence.

A loud crash interrupts my thoughts and I have to turn to make sure Wade hasn't fallen into any burning fire piles or broken anything as he somehow fell into the gutter without a scream.

Once I help him back up and out we've made our way out to some church, where the service is going on. 

Let me just say it right now: I don't hate the concept of church, but I do hate _these_ churches in Nigeria, specifically. All the church staff are so greedy.

Wade wants to go see what it's like compared to the States even though I tell him this. Nevertheless I shrug it off and lead him towards the entrance. If this is anything like last time (where a random stranger snatched my head and made me look at then as they asked for a donation to fix the church, which they were CLEARLY _not_ doing) then Wade and I are so out of there!

Good thing I remember to find a head scarf, as this particular church wouldn't let us in until I put one on my head. We take seats towards the door as to make a quick getaway if anything screwy happens.

Of course it does.

Should I have EXPECTED anything else?!

Wade's trying to read Bible Nso while I'm reading the program. He glances up at me, asking if I can translate for him. I tell him that I can try my best, as I'm not fluent in Igbo. I can understand a good amount, but I can't speak it very well. I lean over then, trying to read it so I can tell him what I know over the loudness of LITERALLY everyone else.

We're so absorbed in it that we don't even notice when they all stop talking, go through a prayer, and move onto donations. I'm interrupted by a sharp tap on my shoulder. I roll my eyes before I keep trying to explain to Wade, who doesn't notice the person either. That is... until the person in question grabs his shoulder and spins him 90 degrees to face them. That makes me look up from Bible Nso to see this person.

'Excuse me,' says the woman with the crazy flashy yellow and purple dress with headscarf to match, tapping her faux-silver 4-inch heels on the rocky surface. 'Would you like to donate to the cause?'

I roll my eyes. This is what I was worried about.

Wade looks like a deer caught in headlights. 'Uh... I don't think I can? All I have is American money...' He casts his eyes downward.

'Hey, don't single him out like that!' I say, irate. 'Do you always treat your newcomers like this?!'

She can't be bothered to answer before another person grabs my head and snatches it around, dropping one of those "sign-up-for-donation" sheets into my lap in the process. 'We have an image to keep up, kid,' he says nastily. 'How hard is it to donate one little thing?'

'P-probably really h-hard when you d-don't have the right currency...' Wade manages with his head still down.

I gently place a hand on his shoulder and he glances slightly in my direction with a small smile. Then I look at the two hostiles in our way. 'There's no way you're using all that money you get on the church, right? Cause last year I came here and a church said they were doing the same thing, but they weren't doing jack, so.... yeah.' I stand up hastily, brushing past them while taking hold of Wade's hand to pull him up.

'We're leaving, Wade.'

**********************************************************************************************************************************

It's another long day in the sun as we leave the church. We're careful to avoid standing in the way of livestock crossing the street (awkward!) and even going a bit of window shopping. In the end Wade buys a traditional looking T shirt similar to the one I have packed away with my things. 

But, as usual, something went wrong.

It's nearly getting to dark point, after a phone call to Sean and Felix, when Wade disappears. Now, I have no idea how he slipped away without me hearing him considering his whole "fall-into-the-gutter" debacle. I run around, screaming his name and yelling at the other passerby telling me to be quiet when they're being just as annoying. I'm about to give up when I traverse a pretty much abandoned road and find Wade's new scarf in the path. Worried, I snatch it up and keep going.

The sound of running water makes me turn. In front of me, I see Lake Caper, which is known for the tire swings that the kids tie into the trees to have some waterside fun. In the one tied to a high branch sits Wade, with his back facing to me. 

I don't do the smart thing and call out to him. Instead, I start walking closer to tap on him.

Halfway through my feet refuse to move as if I'm trapped in quicksand. I keep moving, but merely in place. _Ugh, is Geneva screwing with me again?_ Haven't heard from her since the Signe meeting. I'm about to cry for help when a familiar high voice breaks into my thoughts:

" ** _Are you CRAZY?!_** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN! Evie is back!
> 
> Chapter 19 continues in Nigeria!


	19. Wade-ing in Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wade ends up at Lake Caper for demonic reasons. Iffy can't get near because her demon side is afraid of it and what it symbolizes to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask, don't know what I'm doing, so.... >.<
> 
> In the original paper copy, this was switched with Chapter 20.

' ** _We're not going anywhere NEAR that lake, you hear me?!_** ' 

A flash from behind me makes me jump and turn around. Wade makes no indication of recognizing my presence as I do this.

Evie's there, her fangs now prominently showing as she bares her teeth at me. Her hands are curling slightly, and I notice her 6 inch long nails now - they're broken. Her blue and black hair is a mess now, shooting up like stray tree branches. Her red eye twitches, the white area surrounding it now black, while the pupil of the blue-green one resembles a flame, retaining its color.

I don't know if I should be more relieved, terrified, or confused, but I'm definitely feeling all three of these now...

"Evie! You're finally back!" Relief. "Wait, don't hurt me!" Terror. "And what do you have against that lake, anyway?" Confusion.

She sighs, back to me, and slumps her shoulders. ' **Everything fell apart here... I met Raider, and then Shade disappeared...** '

I point at Wade. 'Is that why _he's_ here?' 

She nods. ' **Raider's contemplating on something. I can sense it.** '

I cross my arms then. 'You need to tell me why you're here after disappearing for so long. And exactly what you have against this place. I don't want Wade being stuck there in eternal contemplation.' I think for a minute. 'And then you have to find a way to save Shade.'

Evie whips her head around. ' **What?! You do realize Shade's been missing for a long time, right?? How do you expect me to find him? What if he's dead or something?** '

I raise an eyebrow. 'Uh, do demons usually die?'

' **We don't "die" so much as we just "cease to exist". When we disappear, we're slowly stripped away from people's memories until we're merely a generality or never mentioned again at all. It's not like dying - people _choose_ to forget then.** ' Evie looks at the ground as she fears the next thing I'm about to ask.

'Is that why Wade can't remember Shade?' I ask. 'Or why none of the other demons can find him?' I think for a second, and then get a little angry. I point at Evie. 'So why do you and Raider remember him then?'

She looks up again. ' **Naturally, everyone is supposed to forget eventually. But when you try to rid the world of a demon by unconventional means...** ' Her hands are wringing around each other so tightly she pokes herself with her jagged nails and draws a bit of blood. ' **The murderers in question remember it all, so as to remind them of their crime - up to the point where they end up confessing what they have done. And when the demons hear of this...** ' Evie's eyes bulge out as she says this, and she looks very tired. ' **They get hungry.** '

My face paints horror across itself. 'Wait... they EAT anyone who kills one of them?!'

' **Only humans,** ' she replies. ' **Demons share the same fate as the fallen.** '

She continues her little schpiel. ' **Anyone, human or demon alike, who'd vaguely heard of the demon does not remember them at all, as if they never met. And anyone close to the demon has their memories of them locked away, only managing to be opened if they hear the demon's name again, except the host. They cannot remember until they see the demon in question again.** ' She takes her hands apart. ' **In theory, the host never remembers as the demon is usually long gone.** '

'"In theory"?' I realize something. 'Does that mean Shade's not really gone?'

Evie nods. ' **Yes. Raider was simply trying to teach Shade a lesson by making him disappear for a while. They counted it as a permanent disappearance, though, which is why he was wiped from the minds. Now, at the time, he was not the strongest demon around - I was, which is why he called on my help. I didn't know what he was doing, or why he needed me, but I agreed, as he told me he needed some assistance in an experiment. Once the deed was done, I ratted him out and they took him away to Spellbound. That's the equivalent to your Alcatraz jail.** '

'Wait!' I cry out. 'If he got locked up, how did he get out?! Do demons usually escape from Spellbound that easy?'

Evie takes a shaky breath. ' **No.... no one ever escapes Spellbound... it's impossible in every form of the word.** ' Her voice wavers as she talks. ' **Someone has to let you free.** ' And she looks down again. ' **That was me. I let him out, because I was scared, and he's holding something over me, and that's when he came here and nested himself inside Wade. He chose him purposely to try and rid him of the locked memories so he could never remember Shade no matter what anyone else did.** '

My hands are balled into fists. I have to keep every fiber of my being from wanting to strangle Evie right then and there. Mainly because Raider isn't here to strangle instead. 'Okay. So is there a way to get him back to Spellbound?'

Evie shrugs. ' **I've been trying, but I can't find one so far. That's why I've been gone. But I realized that I might have to get some help. So I came back. But I ran into a little pathfinder demon on my way over, and let me tell you, you NEVER get in their way, lest you disrupt the path they were following and get attacked!** '

I say, 'Good to know,' before I finally notice Wade. His eyes are glowing white with no pupil evident inside, his mouth slack. His skin appears to be a bit paler, but otherwise he still looks like Wade. He's staring at us, blankly. I turn to Evie. 'Do you think he heard us?'

We both scream as he suddenly appears between us. He glares first at Evie, then me. Then he gives us both a wicked grin. ' **Summon all the help you want, Evie. But if you fail, you'll finally see that you're not top dog anymore. And if you somehow succeed, I'll slander your so-called good name. I'll tell EVERYONE what you did, that you're not as innocent as you appear! (Evie and I both rolled our eyes at this.) You're finished, Evie! Just like you did to me!'**

His eyes start flashing vividly and his arms start spinning in a whirlwind in front of him. Everything within a mile radius starts flying up and swirling around - including me and Evie! We're both screaming, arms flailing in a failed attempt to keep still. Shrieks can be heard against the harsh winds.

Then... silence. Evie and I drop to the ground. 

When we look up from our back-down positions we see Wade a good distance away from us, back at the swing, as if he's never moved in the first place.

I glance at Evie. She sighs, then says, ' **I suppose there are more terrifying things than this lake now.** ' 

With that, she slowly walks towards me, phasing into me as she does so. I close my eyes and let her fully sink into me. When she does, I open them and take shaky steps towards the lake, towards Wade.

He straightens up a bit indicating he hears me. He jumps off the swing and faces me. He looks tired. Then he shrugs.

'So I had a demon after all. Raider gave me my memories back,' he says when I'm about to ask how he knew. 'Doesn't matter. I'll probably never see him again, wherever he's hiding. You know, it's funny, that I hardly remember him, and yet these memories I was given told me we were quite close. And when he was disappeared... I was devastated until I realized that I was slowly starting to forget him.' Wade raises an eyebrow. 'Did you know that when a demon disappears, everyone's supposed to forget instantly, especially the host? So me starting to forget him that slowly was some sort of fluke.'

I shake my head. 'No. That can't be a fluke,' I say. 'You two must have been really close if Shade fought hard to keep you in his memory. And we know he hasn't disappeared forever, so he's still out there.' I reach up to put a hand on Wade's shoulder. 'Don't you worry, Wade.' I squeeze it. 'We'll find him someday.'

He sighs. 'I sure hope so.' 

He takes my hand and starts leading me away from Lake Caper. I wonder if he realizes that we should start booking for flights back to the States as well. And now, with Raider finally gone (at least for now), maybe all of us can finally start to relax again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No more Raider! (at least, not in this book)
> 
> Next few chapters should be about leisurely things that happen. They may not happen chronologically, except Chapter 24, which comes after all of them.


	20. 11 in the AM PM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Truth or Dare, with Sean and Mark against Felix and Iffy. What's going to happen? Let's find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original paper copy, this was switched with Chapter 19.

'Truth or dare?' Mark asks, staring Felix and me square in the eyes.

All four of us are sitting in the second floor area, sitting criss-cross with our arms crossed. Everyone else went out to go welcome Ethan, who has finally arrived, to town. He will soon be joining us in YouTube House, which is why the four of us want to surprise him and don't go out with everyone else.

Felix taps his chin in thought. 'Hmmm... we've been doing truths all day, so... dare!'

Most of the truths involved were always directed at me, including ones about fears, secret collections, and love lives. (Going to space would freak me out, bottle caps, and not dating anyone... don't set me up on any of those websites, now!)

Sean grins wickedly. 'All right then... we dare you to go rick roll anyone that's home in this neighborhood... in your underwear!'

I choke on my apple juice at this statement. 'Are you joking?!'

'Nope! We have to see this happen,' says Mark. He quickly whispers something to Sean, and then says, out loud, 'unless you're too chicken to do it!'

'Oh yeah?!' Felix says, eyes narrowed at them. 'We'll show you!' He jumps to his feet and grabs my arm, then starts running. 'Iffy, let's go! We're not letting them get to us like this!' 

He yanks me into the hallway as I try not to trip on my feet. 'Whoa, slow down there, Flash!' I yell at him, as I dig my heels to the ground in an attempt to stop. Felix stops then, causing me to fly forward a bit into him. 

'Come on, Iffy, there's no backing out now!' he says. He guides me towards the closet and pushes me inside. 'If you don't want me to see you undressing go in here. I'll be waiting outside my door when you're done.' Then he pulls the door shut.

Now by myself, I start pacing around in the lengthy room. Why would Mark and Sean do this to us?! I suppose it's better than streaking, but still! I'm going to look so stupid out there. And I have no doubt that those two are probably going to record us. You know, for posterity.

I peek out of the closet, glad that my underwear is fairly conservative today. My cousin sent me some clothes she was working on months ago, and I always wore them at some point. Today, underneath my usual zany attire, I'm wearing a sports bra (as I've been known to do) and shorts-like underwear (they went halfway on my thighs), which I was grateful for. As I retreat back, I'm left to wonder what may have happened if I didn't wear this today. Any shorter and I may have burst out of the house, clickety-clucking away and hiding out until midnight from the moment they even started that dare.

Sighing, I peek out of the closet again, where Felix has thankfully not entered the room again. I make my way over the door and open it. When I peek out of this one, I turn slightly, seeing Felix in gym shorts - or at least they look like it to me - with a Brofist patch across one knee, leaning against the wall, on his phone. Probably tweeting something about how fans should not taking whatever Sean and Mark may put up so seriously.

He seems to know I'm here, and looks up. 'Ready?'

I shrug. 'We're going to look like fools, you know?'

He nods. 'Doesn't mean we can't have fun with it, right?'

He's right. I shouldn't be letting this get to me. Weird stuff should be right up my alley, right? Right. I march right back into the hallway and down the steps. I glance back a bit to see Felix following me in a similar manner. Sean and Mark follow behind him, and by the way they're giggling I assume my first hunch is right. Problem is, I can't tell who has the camera.

****************************

' _Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna leave you behind and desert you!!_ ' Felix is screaming at the top of his lungs to the last house we stop at. Meanwhile, I'm beside him, on the ground, doing the worm. (Yes, it sounds dumb, but it was waaay preferable to Felix twerking at the last few houses I was singing at.)

The old woman who came to the door is actually clapping along. She's actually enjoying it. Granted, out of the 36 houses we were at, only 7 of them got angry in some form. But the others either figured we were on a dare and appreciated our bravery or didn't know and believed we acted like this all the time. Well, none of them were wrong.

When we finish, she cheers loudly and hands us each a $20 bill. 'You guys should do more crazy stuff like that, you give people quite a laugh!' And then she finally goes inside.

'Aw, what?!' Sean's head pokes up from behind the bush in which he recorded us this time. 'They seriously gave you money this time?!'

Mark pops up beside him, carrying a half-filled fruit basket. 'Last house gave them a freaking fruit basket and NOW you wanna question it?! Coming in a liiiiittle late there, buddy.'

'Dude, you're going to owe us another fruit basket at this rate!' Felix says, right hand on his hip, left hand pointing as he's eyeing the basket. 'It's already half empty!'

Sean shrugs, rubbing an apple against his leg before proceeding to eat it. 'We prefer to think of it as "half full",' he says.

I roll my eyes. 'Hand it over.' I take the basket from Mark, who begrudgingly yields. 'Besides, that recording of us you got should already be your treat. You're going to be holding that over our heads forever!'

Now it's Sean's turn to roll his eyes. 'Please, it's not like we're going to post it on the internet.'

Felix starts to shiver. 'Can we go inside now?! It just got drafty all of a sudden!'

****************************************************

'Okay. Sean - _achoo!_ \- truth or - _achoo!_ \- or dare?' Felix asks between sneezes and sips of his drink.

Poor guy caught a cold as we didn't get home fast enough. I didn't but I am still freezing. To make up for it, Mark whipped up 4 cups of hot chocolate for everyone. Sean finished his within a few minutes ('SPEEEEEEED IS KEY!' he yelled when he was done). Mark's is still full as he hasn't touched it yet, and Felix's and mine are half gone.

Sean taps his chin in mock thought. 'Hmmm.... we'll humor ya. Dare!'

Felix whispers to me, 'We're about to get some well deserved payback.' I widen my eyes, sipping my cocoa, realizing where this is about to go. As soon as he says out loud, 'Alright, it's time for some Septiplier magic! I dare you to kiss each other on the lips!' my thoughts are confirmed and I do a spit-take, all over the floor. Sean's eyes are as wide as mine and he tilts his head to the side. Mark, on the other hand, starts flailing his arms about. 'Are you insane?!'

Felix rolls his eyes. 'Oh, please. At least yours can't possibly get you arrested. Iffy and I got lucky! Besides, you're acting as if you are going to fall out of love with Signe and Amy and in love with each other. Which you WON'T, by the way, because this isn't the movies, this is real life. Just because you do this doesn't mean feelings change. You've made that quite clear the last time this debate surfaced.'

'They didn't believe us,' Sean snaps.

'They're fans, they'll believe whatever the heck they want to,' I say. 'And we won't post it online.' I think for a sec. 'Don't tell me you're chicken now!'

Mark narrows his eyes. 'This is different.'

'How?!' I ask. 'You made us do something we didn't want to do!'

'This is uncomfortable!' Sean points out.

'So was that!' Felix rebukes.

'He could have done worse,' I say, pointing at Felix. 'I'm pretty sure you two would know better than me what worse is.'

Mark shudders. 'Ugh, don't want to think about it.'

Felix raises the camera. 'Come on, doooooooo ittttttt!' he whines.

Mark and Sean exchange glances, then sigh. They look extremely mortified, but nevertheless manage to share a kiss for a good 11 seconds. As soon as they part, a voice yells, 'SEPTIPLIER AWAY!!!' that makes ALL FOUR of us jump in surprise and face the stairway. The person there is now laughing so hard he's holding his head, streaked with blue.

' _Ethan!!_ ' all four of us cry at the same time.

He gestures to Mark and Sean. 'What, you two lose a bet or something?'

'More like we were dared to do it,' Sean says, jerking a thumb at me and Felix. 'We don't need this flaring up again, trust me.'

'Where is everyone else?' I ask. 'How did you get here?'

'Wade and Amy took me over. They're outside right now. Everyone else pretty much headed home.' He then points down the stairs. 'You guys think you can help me with my stuff?'

All four of us stand and head down past Ethan. I'm the last one, so as I pass him he stops me on the stairs. 'So you're the famous Iffy that everyone keeps telling me about. You're quite far from home, aren't you? Been through a lot around here, so I hear.' 

I start walking and he follows. 'No kidding,' I say. 'Life's never been more interesting.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy, it's Ethan! :P


	21. Bobbing for Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix sneaks in to play some pranks on Bob, and of course drags Sean and Iffy along with him. But when a young girl is constantly caught in the crossfire, now Bob's hunting the trio down! What now?!

'Why are we here?' I ask, face palming.

Felix, Sean and I are outside Talia's Flowers, standing behind the shop sign beside the door, which is propped open. Through the glass of the window we can see Bob trying to choose certain flowers to buy. Sean and I know he's buying them for Mandy because he told us. Only us, because he's sure one of the others would accidentally blow the secret out loud, knowing them.

And of course, Felix found out. Usually, either Felix shows up conveniently to hear things or he uses Infelix to go find out what people are saying. It's times like that that you wonder what Felix even does in his free time with such information. Answer: pranks, and lots of them.

Most of the time, he flies solo, but that depends on the person in question that he's getting at - Wade, Amy, the Grumps, maybe even Marzia. He sometimes goes after Sean, but if he does he brings others. Same if it were Mark, me, or Bob, mainly because in Mark's and my case, our demons don't take pranks lightly. Dark's all formal and serious and Evie's too dysfunctional to not make the prank-back of a scarier magnitude. Bob's just scary in general considering how serious he naturally is. He's only gone after him once, so I've heard, and that was years ago.... and a mistake.

'It's the 5-year anniversary of that prank I pulled on him,' Felix says, pointing inside. He then waves his hands, and out comes a bucket of paint out of nowhere. 'It's about time we honored that, isn't it?'

'Why do WE specifically have to do it?' Sean asks, pointing between me and him. 'Aren't Wade and Amy usually the ones you take on these excursions anyway?'

Felix lowers the bucket. 'Exactly! I _always_ take them, and, frankly, this one might have scared them off... Bob got them pretty bad back then...'

'What?!' I say, whipping my head towards him. 'Did you get them caught in your crossfire?!'

Felix scratches the back of his head sheepishly with a free hand. 'Uh.... maaaaaaybe?' Then he waves it off. 'That's besides the point! You two are the only ones that weren't around when dude put me in the hospital!' His eyes flash blue for a split second. 'That deserves some payback!'

Sean raises a concerned eyebrow. 'Why didn't anyone tell me?! And how was I NOT there to see that?'

'Bob made us all drop it,' says Felix, one eye now completely blue, voice distorting a bit. 'You'd gone back to visit your family then, and Mark and I weren't just going to rip you out of Ireland for that.'

I shake my head. 'You're asking for trouble, and I'd rather not be a part of it, Fe.' I step out from behind the door. 'I'm not staying here.'

And as I turn to leave, my feet suddenly feel like lead and I can't move. I can't even turn back.

 _Evie, why can't I break loose?!_ I think up to her.

 ** _Turn around..._** she thinks back. I can hear her voice waiver a bit. Why was she scared?

I turn back best I can manage. There Felix is aiming a blue flaming ball of fire right at me. I scream. Sean is stunned for a split second before he finally lowers Felix's hands with his own.

'Once again, do we need to spell it out for you when we're in _public?!_ ' Sean says. 'Were you really about to try vaporizing her right here and now?!'

Felix groans, and his eye isn't blue anymore. He crosses his arms to keep himself from doing anything with them. 'Come on, Iffy! You HAVE to come! Besides, what kind of friend would you be if you left Sean here alone with me?'

Rats. He has a point there.

'Fine. But what exactly are you doing with that paint anyway?'

He closes the door slowly so as not to make any noise. Then he wills the paint bucket above the door, held by a rope at a very weird position.

I tilt my head. 'Why does the rope look like that?'

'We're not doing the prank from the ground,' says Felix, and Sean says, 'Ohhhh no....'

*************************************************

'Whyyyyyyy.....' Sean groans, covering his eyes.

Like he expects, now we're on the roof of Talia's, and while he is as close to the middle of it as possible, Felix is using Infelix's x-ray vision to see through the ceiling so he can tell when Bob is leaving. Which leaves me holding the rope to the bucket, which is shaking along with my hands, but much faster than the average hands with Evie being just as nervous and her little super speed power (most demons have this, but can only be activated when they are dominant. Evie is an exception since I can go speedy myself if she wills it so).

'I'm too young to go to the hospital...' I moan, still shaking the rope. The bucket is clattering along the rim of the door.

Felix turns to look at me. 'Stop shaking the bucket, Iffy! What if it falls too early?'

I glare at him. 'ThEn YoU cOmE hOlD iT!!!' I whisper-yell, hearing Evie's voice mix with mine for a split second. I guess she thinks what Felix just said was stupid like I did.

Felix raises an eyebrow, but shrugs. 'Fine.' He makes his way over carefully and then tugs the rope out of my hand, a bit too forcefully.

'Be careful, Fe!' Sean calls, his hands still over his eyes, having heard the slightly louder clatter. Jeez, how wide is the rim of the door anyway?

Felix rolls his eyes. 'You two are so chicken.'

'HeY!!' we both yell, and it sounds as if Anti and Evie have taken up the cry.

'Geez, are you two sick or something?' Felix asks without turning.

'We're definitely sick OF something,' Sean mutters, rolling his eyes.

Felix whips around, and his hand holding the rope starts to tug, but he doesn't notice. 'Listen, you -'

'INCOMING!!!' I yell suddenly, startling both of them. Sean gets a tighter grip on the roof, and Felix asks, 'what the heck was that for?!', to which I motion to the door top, now sans a bucket.

Felix gulps, 'do I even want to...'

He trails off as a scream pierces the air, and it's feminine. Carefully, all three of us peek over the edge so we avoid being seen.

'Are you okay?!' Uh-oh.

 _Sniffle._ 'I... think so...'

Bob is standing in the doorway of the shop, having heard the loud splat that the three of us overlooked. In front of him is a little girl, with the bucket still on her head, soaked in neon green, pink, and white paint, none of which actually mix with each other.

Bob looks up, and then all three of us move away from the edge. 'Annnnnnnd we're _screwed_ ,' I say, hugging my knees and rocking across the rooftop.

'We should get out of here fast!' Sean says, taking up the cry.

Felix waves it off. 'Please. Like he'd find out it was us that easily.'

_Bam!!_

The sound of tin clatters against the roof. In horror we realize that a part of the roof has been punched through. And in place through the hole is a fist, later accompanied by a voice: ' _I know you're up there, Felix!_ '

Felix screams, running to the far edge away from the hole. Sean and I slowly back up after him until we're all on the edge. The hole widens as part of a ladder bursts through, followed by Bob climbing the rest of the way up.

'You were saying?!' I hiss. 'Mr. "Oh, please, he won't find out it's us!"?!'

Sean says, 'Why aren't we just teleporting out of here again?!'

Bob jumps on the roof, growling then, and Felix says, suddenly, 'cause we're about to do something super stupid right now!' He grabs Sean's hand and jumps off the building. In extreme fear Sean grabs my hand, pulling me off with them. Talia's is about as tall as a three story building, so it did hurt even when we landed perfectly on our feet on the ground. Then, with our hands still intertwined, Felix took off sprinting, with Sean and me forcefully following after him. It did make me wonder why we're not teleporting like Sean has said.

_Dear god, please tell me he doesn't have other plans?!_

**********************************************

'Keep quiet!' hisses Felix. 'You're going to alert him!'

'Are you insane?!' Sean snaps.

'We're going to get caught!' I whisper fiercely.

In the alley of Swift Fall Thrift Store, all three of us are on the fire escape balcony protruding from the building. Bob is around the back exit of the store, about to head into the one in front of him: Pocky Bakery, where he was getting sweet treats for Mandy (he texted us this, which means he might not have seen us on the roof). Seriously, Felix. Out of all the days you have to try and prank him you have to choose today?!

Felix holds up a can of cat food, but I can't really read the label considering the darkness of the alley. The sun doesn't really shine inside, so it's quite hard to tell.

'Is that... cat food??' Sean asks, sniffing the air. 'What are you even doing with that?'

Felix grins. 'You'll see.'

As soon as he hears a door open, he rips open the can and throws it down without looking. We hear a splat and a clang, as the food hits someone and the empty can clatters down beside them. Then we hear something else: a GIANT cesspool of meowing. We have to cover our ears, it's so deafening. A scream can be heard as someone starts running down the alley. Felix starts to laugh.

But then: 'Oh, Jesus, not again!'

Bob. He's not the one running down the alley. Felix quits laughing abruptly. He nervously glances down where the screaming's coming back, assuming the person was chased into the corner and now has to go back the other way. As they start to come into view, two distinct scents come to my nose: blood, from scratches; and paint - namely, the one that was just used on Felix's earlier attempt.

'How do I somehow hit the same girl?!' he hisses, as the screaming fades into crying after Bob pulls her out of the way and tries to comfort her.

'Are you my knight in shining armor?' she asks in a tiny voice.

Bob chuckles. 'I might as will be, shouldn't I? Don't worry, I'll keep you safe from the bad man.' Then we hear metal clattering. 'Wait here.' It starts to get louder.

'Is he climbing up?!' Sean's eyes widen as he says this, cautiously peering over before backing up and getting too scared (of Bob and the height).

'Jumping again!' called out Felix. He grabs my hand first this time and jumps off as I grab Sean's hand in the process. It's a much higher drop here than at Talia's and we have to refrain from screaming. Then he starts leading us somewhere else.

_Felix, what could you possibly have up your sleeve THIS time?!_

**********************************************************

'Okay, do you HAVE a death wish?!' I say.

I thought those earlier attempts were bad, but it got worse. Sean and I fidget on our feet outside Bob's room back at the house while Felix searches for something inside.

'What if you wake Wade?' Sean says, jerking a thumb across the hall where Wade's room resides.

Felix shakes his head. 'Please. These days he pretty much sleeps like the dead. He feels like he has no drive to get up anymore.'

Sean and I exchange a glance. Once again, he has a point. Ever since our Nigeria trip the poor guy has felt quite drained without Raider. Even his willingness of "Where's Wade?" has sort of fallen to an all time low.

'Yes!' We look back inside and see Felix holding up a can in triumph. My face goes pale as I realize what it is: a can of Xtra Boom 8. Namely, the last can Bob was saving to do something else with Sean later. He must have hidden it quite well if it took Felix so long to find it. Probably for my sake.

Sean notices this. He shakes a fist in the air. 'No! You can't just take that! We were supposed to do something with our drink cans later! And he specifically hid it well so no one would get into it!'

'Clearly he doesn't know how I can find anything if I set my mind to it!' Felix says. He marches past us and own the steps. We nervously follow after him.

Now in the backyard, Felix summons Paran to help enlarge the can; she sits by as she, Sean, and I watch Felix hold the purple-red liquid in a giant cube over his head.

' **What does Felix wish to do with this unstable wine cube?** ' Paran asks with a tilt of her head.

'Very stupid things, Paran,' answers Sean, not inclined to tell her it's not wine. 'Bob's literally going to kill you TWICE for this,' he says to Felix.

He rolls his eyes. 'Oh please, like that girl is actually going to be coincidentally coming by the house, right?' He hears faint footsteps. 'Good! He's approaching!'

He's too absorbed to hear what we suddenly hear: 'Mr. Bob, what kind of cookies do you have?'

Felix is about to eat his words.

Paran strains to hear. ' **That voice is a girl's, is it not?** ' she asks quizzically. 

I shake my head. 'Yes, Paran, but Felix is too far gone to even hear that.'

' **Why don't you stop him?** '

'He doesn't hear us,' says Sean. 'We might want to go inside if we don't want to see how this plays out.'

'At least so Bob doesn't kill us too,' I say, and start to head to the door. 'We didn't even want to do this, and we didn't do anything.'

But suddenly, I feel stuck, exactly like earlier in the day. An attempt of turning back reveals that Sean and Paran have been stuck in same position as me. Straining to see more shows that Felix's left eye has a flame of blue flying towards the back of his head, but he wasn't facing us and hasn't otherwise changed his initial position. 

' _Don't think that I don't realize you trying to sneak out,_ ' he thinks to us. ' _You'd better stay where you are._ '

' _Why does Paran have to stay?_ ' mutters Sean within his thoughts.

' _I don't want her figuring out how to release you or calling on help to release you,_ ' he responds. ' _Oh, by the way, don't bother asking Anti or Evie to bail you out; I'm afraid they're a bit tied up at the moment._ '

All three of us stand normally as Felix throws the Xtra-Cube over the pearly white fence. A large SPLASH shakes the ground and stains the fence inky purple-red and the rest of us. Sean, Paran and I shake ourselves dry as Felix runs up to the fence and peers out of in in a mini giggle fit.

Only to interrupt himself and fly backward just as a loud THWACK hits the fence. All of us in the frozen party roll our eyes. Bob must have punched him.

'What do you have against little girls?!' he screeches hopping the 7-foot tall fence - an amazing feat for a demonless dude - landing in front of Felix. 'That's the third time you've done something mean to her!' Then he takes sight of the rest of us. 'Don't tell me you were helping him. I'll be darned if he roped you in for this last one.'

' **There were more?** ' Paran asks quizzically. Sean nods to this, and I say, 'We were with him, yes, but we didn't do anything. He tried to make us help him but we refused. Then he dragged poor Paran here for this very last one.' I bite my lip. 'We're sorry he wasted your Xtra-Boom can. I can try to find another, if you want?'

The little girl crosses our gate, and Bob turns back to her. 'One moment, Peggy, my friends will make and I'll bring your cookies. Just head inside, alright?' When she leaves, he turns back to me and shakes his head. 'Don't worry, Iffy, Ethan decided to be a failsafe in case someone broke into the can.' He finally glares at Felix, who meets his gaze anxiously, and lowers his voice. 'I only hope Felix has a failsafe for those arms of his.'

********************************************************

Today I learn some things.

1\. DO NOT MESS WITH BOB EVER!!!  
2\. Felix gets off easy with only one broken arm.  
3\. The other demons need to learn how to hold people in place.  
4\. Wade and Ethan don't mess around with their cookies! (Absolutely delicious <3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mess with Bob because then he'll attack!


	22. Another Day, Trix Rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy's hair gets dyed by one of her sneaky friends who wanted it done that way, and she's not sure what to do about it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my friends LEGIT said she wanted to dye my hair this way xD

My hair. It's been naturally golden brown all my life. Never dyed or anything, and now I'm staring light pink and pale yellow in the face (or, more rather, my hair) like it's okay. Only, it's not.

I keep touching it. It doesn't even feel very real. I'm not the kind of person to do this. And Evie knows that if she ever dyes my hair, SHE dies. So I am almost certain that it's not her.

In the mirror, I touch the pink side of my head, trying to think of who would NOT do this to me. I knew Sean and Mark wouldn't, as pranking was not their forte, and theirs aren't even all that mean. Wade wouldn't have done it either, mainly because he knows of what may happen. We haven't been around the girls as of two weeks or so, except Amy, who probably would freak, so I'm fairly sure it's not them. Grumps? No way. They're hardly ever around. Bob? Yeah, right. Way too serious for all of that.

I stroke the pale yellow side now, trying to see who was left. Ethan? That boy can be sneaky sometimes, would have never seen it coming. Felix is literally wanted enemy number one in the pranking world. Tyler and Cry wouldn't typically do such things, except if they were dared. Robin would probably have to be coaxed as well. He'd probably freak out over how many times this could go wrong.

Sighing, I turn away from the mirror. I can't even remember when this could happen. Evie's my guard watch at night and alarm in the morning, so if anyone had done it in the house, she would know. Her senses are much keener at night. Except she doesn't know. So it didn't happen in the house. Did we go anywhere before? I'm drawing blanks. I feel that one of the demi-demons is working with someone else. Naturally, I head down the hall to go question Felix first.

But he's not here.

Marzia's in here instead, and she informs me that Felix has stepped out for the day. So much for that.

I decide to question Evie next, and let her out of the watch. I ask her lots of things and she answers in sort of a daze. She knows slightly more than I know, but not much. Makes sense. If my memory was altered then hers might have been. All she remembers is that it happened in park while I dozed off on my bench, and then she drew a blank. Maybe that's when something was cast to make us forget. She did remember that Sean, Wade, and Amy were there at the park when it happened, so I return her and decide to go find them.

They're all in the living room playing Uno. I'm almost convinced it's a World's Quietest Let's Play, as if they had been playing normally there would have been screaming plaguing the house. Granted, I would have probably heard it earlier.

I ask them what they know from yesterday. 

They don't know much.

Wade starts off remembering our first "Where's Wade?" game in months. He felt weird and spontaneous all of a sudden and just took off running.

Amy supplies that I was too tired to even participate and dozed off on the bench.

Sean mentions that when they came back, my hair was starting to turn at the tips, but thought nothing of it.

I shrug and thank them anyway. Then I leave the house.

On my way to Pocky's I run into to Robin and Cry. They wave hi and then notice my hair. Robin raises an eyebrow (his calmest way of panicking) and Cry throws me a compliment. I giggle at that, and then ask if they've seen anyone up to any pranks lately.

They mention that Tyler and Mark are working on something but won't tell anyone what it is. Maybe trying to keep this prank off their minds? I would find out.

The last few bites of my pocky sticks are gone when I reach Robin, Cry, and Tyler's apartment. The guys told me they'd probably be in there if I'm looking for them. Hesitantly, I knock on the door. When I get no answer, I let myself in quietly, as it seems the door has been left open.

Tyler is ducked behind the TV, and Mark is asleep on the couch. I call out to them. Tyler startles a bit, and Mark shoots right up out of slumber. I giggle, then wave hello. Mark waves as best he can from his position while Tyler voices hello aloud while crossing his arms. There's a wrench in his hand. I ask what they were doing.

Tyler says that he was finally trying to fix their TV after Felix fried the circuits a few months back. He mentions that Mark is supposed to be helping him but passed out after a few hours. 

Mark sits up in indignation, saying that he was up with Marzia, Signe and Sean yesterday trying to get who knows what done all at once. Anti and Dark were out and about on night patrol on their floor and Paran was nowhere to be found. 

I raise an eyebrow to this. Paran was missing? I ask Mark to bring Dark outside so I can talk to him. He gives me a weird look but obliges. He leads me to the bathroom mirror and points at it. In moments Dark forms in the mirror with an unamused look doted on his features. He states that Paran went to visit Infelix for DemonTuber reasons, to help out. He pulls up his phone and scrolls through it for a bit. He taps something and holds out the phone to me. I reach into the mirror and take it from him. Mark and I glance over at the channel he left it on: KillDoubleDie. Dark mentions that this is Infelix's channel.

The most recent video catches my eye.

Mark and I gasp over ts title: "Demon Dye Test".

As we watch the video, things start to fall into place. Prominently, in the video, Paran stands over me, waving a sea of pink sparkles in the air around me, which I suddenly remember as amnesia dust. Then Felix and Infelix pop up on either side of me, holding the tips of my hair and chanting a spell. After they withdraw, my tips slowly start to turn - not noticeable enough to the normal human eyes (which is probably why Sean caught it).

I should have known that Felix would be involved somehow. He probably left the house just to avoid me. No matter. I hand Dark back his phone and he dissipates. Mark asks what I'm going to do, and I tell him that I'll give all three of them a piece of my mind later.

For now, I should endure this funky hair while I can.


	23. The Crankiest Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Ethan has come over to stay, Mark decides on another video with Nerf guns, to which Ethan will get revenge!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those vids made me laugh too much lol

'I can't believe we're doing this, why are we doing this?' Tyler rubs his temples as he asks.

We're outside in the backyard. Mark, Ethan, and Bob are all holding up Nerf guns, I'm sitting in a lawn chair off to the side, and Tyler is standing beside me now with his arms crossed.

'REVENGE,' Ethan cries out, pointing the gun right at him.

Tyler points at me. 'You'd better watch where you're aiming that thing right now, what if you hit Iffy?'

I hold out a hand towards Mark and he tosses his gun to me. 'Now, we're evenly matched,' I say. ' Try me, I dare you.'

'Relax, Iffy,' Ethan says with an eye roll, 'you're not my target today. It's more all of the others that are.' He gestures to them with his Nerf gun.

'Like you're going to get any real shots at us, Ethan,' Mark says, crossing his arms. 'You could barely do it last time. What was that you were shouting again?'

'I believe it went something like "NO MULLIGANS! HELP ME!!", didn't it?' shrieks Tyler.

I can't help but bust out laughing as soon as he does it, this close to rolling off the chair. Ethan fires one of the little plush bullets at that point, but I'm not so out of it that I can't raise my hand up to block it.

'Nice try,' I say, 'it's not so easy to catch me off guard.'

Moments later, I'm holding the camera at them while they’re intro-ing and such.

'Try not to break any windows!' I call out, obviously poking at Bob when I say it. He sticks his tongue out in response. Mark walks closer.

'Hello, everybody! My name is Markiplier, and have we got a video for you!" He gestures behind him to the rest of the guys. "As you can see here, Ethan, Bob, and Tyler are all here, and carrying Nerf guns. We decided to make another video with them to watch Ethan fail at getting revenge.'

Ethan narrows his eyes. 'I won't fail...!'

 _Suuuuuure, Ethan, and I'm going to do 4 aerial back flips,_ I think to myself.

'Okay, so this challenge will be over 5 rounds. We're playing Red Light, Green Light again, and first one to mess up before reachiing the line - ' he points off to the side and I turn the camera to where the line is - 'gets to line up in front of the firing squad. First one or ones over the line get to _be_ the firing squad. And whichever one of us is facilitating the round is immune to a shooting.' He walks into frame. "Let's start!"

*****

Round 1 is uneventful. Tyler loses, and so Mark fires at him. He gets him on the second try.

Round 2 is just painful. Bob wins, so he takes a shot at everyone, but when he aims last, Ethan decides to swerve off to the right and I end up taking a Nerf bullet to the eye instead. (Bob does apologize, but I tell him it's Ethan that really should have.)

Round 3 is okay. Mark and Tyler tie, so they take a shot at each other. Tyler misses, Mark doesn't. Then they shoot at Bob and Ethan. Bob gets hit once, and Ethan is hit twice.

Then comes Round 4. The last round of the day to determine who will win. This round is different this time. First one over the line gets to shoot at a person of their choice with two Nerfs instead of one, earning them double points if they hit them, to get ahead. Right now, Bob leads with 7 points, Tyler has 6, Mark has 4, and Ethan's losing with just 2 of them. Shots are worth 4 points instead of just 2.

All of them are lined up at the start, so I am the one to facilitate this round.

'Green light!' I yell, and all of them are on a dead run to me. 'Red light!'

As soon as I say this, they all screech in place, except for Tyler who goes skidding on the dew ridden ground for the first time today.

'Well, I had a good run,' he says, walking over to where I was sitting earlier. 

'At least you can't lose, even getting hit with both,' I point out. 'Even if Ethan shoots you, Mark would lose, and he still wouldn't even win himself.' I turn back to the other three. 'Green light!'

They're off, and Mark is dangerously leaning forward as he runs. 'Red light!' As I expect, Mark trips over his own feet and flies forward into the mud. He stands up and glares at all of us.

'Not a word.' He walks into the house, wiping his glasses as he goes.

The rest of us stare after him for a while and then we're focused again. 'Green!' _Zoom!_ 'Red!'

'Whoa!' Bob ends up with one of his feet in tiptoe position, quite painful indeed. Ethan freezes, bent over, as if he were going to flop.

'Almost there, guys,' I say, and Tyler shouts, 'Green light!' in my place. As they run forward he keeps his eyes trained on the ground and then occasionally glances at his watch. 

I glance at him, and then at the two coming closer. 'Uh, Ty? You gonna say - '

 _Shoom!_ 'Red light!' 

Bob falls just over the line. Ethan screams because he has walked into the path of a now active sprinkler, which I assume that Tyler has known was going to pop up there. 

'No fair!' Ethan shouts, and then he rushes over for the guns all lying a heap and fires one straight at Tyler from 20 feet away, which ends up nailing him right in the stomach as he falls backward into the chair. He holds it in pain as Bob and I both stare in horror. Even Mark, who's now watching from inside, looks a bit terrified.

Ethan, on the other hand, looks dangerously pleased and yet unsatisfied. He picks up another gun and screams, ' _Who else wants a piece of this?!_ ' 

I'm still holding the camera, so I'm the one to look into it and say, 'Well, we have a case of deranged Ethan on our hands, so we will see you... in the next video - hopefully. See ya!' and then I close it and join Bob and Wade into running inside, screaming, and hiding out inside until Ethan has cooled down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angry Ethan is NOT fun


	24. Story-ception!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iffy decides to write the tale of what's happened over the time she's spent starting her channel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this concludes the story! See you next time! :P
> 
> \- Iffy

People ought to know.

I mean, stories like this never always happen, right? And I didn't just go on some crazy adventure to NOT tell this story.

'Hey, what are you doing?' a voice calls out in my head. Evie. I use the watch to make her show up in front of me in wisp form.

I shrug. 'Trying to write a story, that's all.'

She raises an eyebrow. 'You think people will believe it?'

'No," I say, shaking my head. 'But that's what will make it interesting all the same, whether they think it's so real or so fake.'

I turn back to my chair, starting to type. As I do, I glance over at my old desk chair, sitting proudly in a corner where Evie left it when she comes out to sit. 

I smile at it.

There's a good place to start.


End file.
